MEDITATIONS 


ON 


Death  and  Eternity 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN 

BY 

FREDERICA    ROWAN 
/ 


BOSTON 

TICKNOR    AND    FIELDS 

1863 


Z  77 


University   Press: 

Welch,    Bigelow,    and    Company, 

Cambridge. 


NOTE 


TO    THE    AMERICAN  EDITION. 


HE  circumstances  under  which  this 
volume  has  been  produced  are  very 
peculiar.  A  favorite  book  with  his 
late  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Con- 
sort was  the  well-known  German  work  Stun- 
den  der  Andacht,  which  is  generally  ascribed  to 
Zschokke.  Some  of  these  Meditations  were 
frequently  read  by  him,  as  though  he  had  a  pre- 
sentiment of  his  early  death.  After  that  sad 
event  the  book  naturally  became  more  than  ever 
endeared  to  the  Queen,  who  solaced  herself  by 
making  a  selection  of  the  greater  favorites  ;  these 
she  employed  Miss  Rowan  to  translate,  and  had 
them  printed  in  a  volume,  of  which  a  small  num- 
ber of  copies  were  circulated,  with  a  notice  that 
the  "  Meditations  "  had  "  been  selected  for  trans- 
lation by  one  to  whom,  in  deep  and  overwhelming 
sorrow,  they  had  proved  a  source  of  comfort  and 
edification. "  As  the  volume  is  one  so  eminently 
calculated  to  answer  this  end,  it  was  evident  that 
a   much   wider   circulation   was   desirable   than   at 


IV 


NOTE. 


first   contemplated,  and  accordingly  Her  Majesty 
was  pleased  to  give  her  permission  to  that  effect. 


The  volume  is  now  republished  in  America, 
where  so  many  afflicted  hearts  need  consolation. 
It  is  believed  that  these  "  Meditations  "  will  carry 
comfort  wherever  they  are  read. 


Original  Preface. 

HE  Meditations  contained  in  this  volume 
form    part    of  the    well-known    German 


HI  devotional  work  Stunden  der  Andacht, 
published  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury,  and  generally  ascribed  to  Zschokke. 

They  have  been  selected  for  translation  by 
one  *  to  whom,  in  deep  and  overwhelming  sor- 
row, they  have  proved  a  source  of  comfort  and 
edification. 

London,  June,  1862. 


translator  s  Note. 

ER  MAJESTY  having  graciously  grant- 
ed her  permission  to  publish  these  se- 
IJ  lections,  (originally  printed  for  private 
circulation  only,)  the  Translator  now  presents 
them   to   the  general    public. 

*  Queen  Victoria. 


tfable  of  Contents. 


Page 

Is  Slow  Decline  or  Sudden  Death  most  desirable?  .  1 

Fear  of  Death.    Part  1 14 

Fear  of  Death.    Part  II 28 

God  is  Love 42 

The  Consolation  of  the  Patient  Sufferer    .        .        .56 

The  Sick 71 

A  Foretaste  of  Heaven.    Part  1 84 

A  Foretaste  of  Heaven.    Part  n.          ....  96 

The  World  a  Mirror  of  Eternity 108 

The  Existence  of  Angels 123 

Death  is  my  Gain 138 

Eternal  Destiny.    Part  1 152 

Eternal  Destiny.    Part  II. 164 

The  Destination  of  Man 176 

Immortality 193 

Why  must  the  Future  Life  be  hidden  from  us?      .  206 

A  Joy  in  the  Hour  of  Death 221 

Thoughts  at  the  Graves  of  those  we  love       .        .  234 

The  Thought  of  Eternity 248 

Interpretations  of  Eternity:  — 

I.   Going  in  to  the  Father 262 

II.   The  Future  Life 278 

III.  Retribution 294 

IV.  Reunion 312 

V.   Reunion 329 

VI.  Reunion 343 

Memorial  Festival  of  our  Triumph  over  Death       .  358 

The  Triumph  of  Holiness 370 

The  Connection  between  Life  and  Eternity     .        .  385 

Glorification  after  Death 401 


Meditations. 


IS   SLOW   DECLINE    OR   SUDDEN 
MOST   DESIRABLE? 


DEATH 


Saviour  !  by  thy  death- wound's  power, 
Strengthen  me,  when  that  blest  hour, 
Which  weigheth  crowns  of  victory, 
To  my  death-bed  draweth  nigh. 

Then  peace,  with  soft  and  silent  wing, 
Round  my  couch  thy  shadow  fling. 
Ghost  of  my  sins  !  avoid  the  bed 
Where  I,  dying,  rest  my  head, 
While  the  fading  life-light  pales 
As  my  quivering  eyesight  fails. 

Come,  my  angel,  from  God's  throne, 
Bring  me  my  celestial  crown  ; 
Then  waft  me,  with  thy  waving  palm, 
To  heavenly  joys,  and  angel  calm. 

(Matthew  vii.  20,  21.) 

m^^^m^lAT  a  painful  shock  do  we  not  all 

experience  at  the  intelligence  of  the 

sudden  death  of  a  friend,  or  even  of 

Hfe  a  mere  acquaintance,  whom  we  may 

have  seen  and  spoken  to  but  a  few  hours  or  a  few 

l  A 


2  IS  SLOW  DECLINE   OR 

days  before,  and  whom  we  believe  to  be  in  good 
health  !  We  are  struck  with  terror ;  we  find  it 
difficult  to  realize  the  fact ;  it  seems  to  us  incom- 
prehensible, impossible ;  it  is  as  though  we  had 
expected  that  God,  the  Ruler  of  life  and  death, 
would,  in  regard  to  us  and  all  that  concerns  us 
in  this  world,  have  made  a  merciful  exception  to 
the  general  course  of  things. 

But  what  is  it  that  terrifies  us  ?  It  seems  to  us 
dreadful  that  a  human  being  should,  unexpectedly 
and  without  any  preparation,  be  torn  from  amid  all 
his  plans  and  projects,  and  be  ushered  into  another 
world.  We  at  once  picture  to  ourselves  in  im- 
agination our  own  soul  in  the  place  of  that  of  the 
departed  person,  and  feel  the  silent  awe  with  which 
it  must  be  seized  at  the  mighty  change  that  has 
been  wrought  in  the  course  of  a  few  seconds, 
when  it  finds  itself,  without  any  forewarning,  drift- 
ing away  from  its  common  occupations  into  the 
unknown  world  beyond  the  grave.  We  shudder 
at  such  parting  without  leave-taking,  without  the 
last  pressure  of  the  hand  of  affection. 

Different  are  the  impressions  produced  by  the 
spectacle  of  the  slow  extinction  of  one  whose  illness 
can  only  end  in  death.  It  is  true,  that  in  such 
case  we  are  better  prepared  for  the  loss  we  are  to 
sustain  ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  slightest  sign  of 
improvement  revives  our  hope  that  the  malady 
will  not  prove  fatal,  and  the  dearer  to  us  the  per- 
son who  seems  about  to  depart,  the  more  willingly, 


SUDDEN  DEATH  MOST  DESIRABLE?        3 

the  more  fervently,  do  we  give  ourselves  up  to 
hope.  And  when  death  does  ensue,  our  grief  is 
not  the  less  poignant  because  we  might  have  been 
prepared  for  all  that  was  to  come.  It  is  true,  that 
the  sufferings  of  the  sick  are  seldom  as  intense  as 
our  heated  and  self-torturing  imaginations  depict 
them  to  us ;  but  who  can  watch  the  formerly  so 
blooming,  and  now  so  emaciated  form,  the  pale 
cheek  and  sunken  eye,  without  being  moved  with 
deep  pity?  Who  can  listen  to  his  groans  and 
sighs,  to  the  quick,  feeble,  or  heavy  breathing, 
without  wishing  that  a  merciful  God  would  soon 
put  an  end  to  this  state,  and  give  the  sufferer  rest 
in  that  sleep  of  death  which  is,  after  all,  inevitable  ? 

Thus  we  are  terrified  by  sudden  death,  while 
we  are  pained  by  the  spectacle  of  slow  decline. 

But  which  of  these  would  be  the  most  desirable, 
if  wishing  could  be  of  any  avail,  when  the  goal  of 
every  hope  and  every  desire  has  been  irrevocably 
fixed  ?     Is  sudden  or  slow  death  to  be  preferred  ? 

This  is  a  question  which  at  first  sight,  indeed, 
seems  idle,  as  our  opinions  can  have  no  effect  upon 
that  which  must  and  will  take  place.  But  never- 
theless the  subject  has  great  attractions  for  every 
mind,  and  to  meditate  upon  it  cannot  fail  to  be 
instructive  and  consolatory,  if  it  tend  to  destroy 
the  many  prejudices  which  are  entertained  in  re- 
gard to  it. 

For  instance,  are  there  not  many  mortals  who 
look  upon  sudden  death  as  the  greatest  of  evils, 


4  IS  SLOW  DECLINE   OR 

because  they  believe  that  whosoever  is  thus  strick- 
en clown  is  carried  away  in  the  midst  of  sins, 
which  he  has  not  had  time  to  repent  of,  to  eternal 
damnation  ?  Are  there  not  many  who  for  this 
reason  in  particular  pray  to  God  to  deliver  them 
from  sudden  death  ? 

But  such  belief  can  hardly  be  other  than  the  fruit 
of  superstition  and  of  an  unworthy  conception  of 
the  greatness  and  justice  of  God.  For  if  sudden 
death  were  in  reality  the  greatest  of  evils,  how 
could  God  —  whose  children  we  all  are,  to  whose 
grace  and  mercy  we  all  lay  claim  — favor  some 
human  beings  in  this  most  important  matter,  (if  it 
be  really  so,)  and  not  others?  When  an  earth- 
quake or  a  flood  suddenly  destroys  with  one  swoop 
hundreds  of  lives,  are  there  not  likely  to  be  among 
the  number  as  many  virtuous  and  upright  men  as 
there  are  deep-dyed  sinners  ?  If  sudden  death 
were  the  direst  of  misfortunes,  would  not  an 
all-merciful  God  in  distributing  it  exercise  some 
discrimination  ?  What  have  the  millions  who 
breathe  out  their  lives  slowly  on  a  bed  of  sickness 
done  to  deserve  their  being  thus  favored? 

We  may  indeed  say  to  ourselves,  —  On  the  bed 
of  sickness  the  evil-doer  has  time  to  repent  of  his 
sins,  and  to  turn  anew  to  God.  But  are  we  not 
all  sinners?  And  if  repentance,  brought  about 
by  the  fear  of  death,  can  set  everything  right 
again,  would  it  not  be  opposed  to  the  Divine  love 
of  God,  which  embraces  all  alike  with  fatherly  ten- 


SUDDEN  DEATH  MOST  DESIRABLE?       5 

derness,  if  he  were  to  deny  this  happiness  to  many 
thousands  while  he  granted  it  to  others  ?  Would 
even  an  earthly  father,  a  human  mother,  exercise 
such  injustice  towards  their  children  ?  No  ;  your 
conceptions  of  the  highest  of  all  beings  are  faulty, 
because  you  entertain  erroneous  views  of  the  value 
of  death-bed  repentance.  When  a  criminal  in  his 
prison  cell,  full  of  fear  of  the  coming  punishment, 
repents  of  his  misdeeds,  would  you  at  once  place 
him  in  moral  worth  on  a  level  with  the  most  pious 
and  virtuous  of  men  ?  If  a  child,  who  has  long 
caused  you  sorrow  by  its  disobedience  and  mani- 
fold naughtinesses,  perceiving  that  you  are  at  last 
determined  to  put  a  stop  to  the  evil  and  to  carry 
out  the  threatened  punishment,  burst  into  tears 
and  repent  because  of  its  fear  of  chastisement, 
would  you  reward  it  in  the  same  way,  bestow 
upon  it  the  same  pleasures,  as  upon  the  docile,  in- 
dustrious child,  who,  looking  up  to  you  with  tender 
love,  has  always  obeyed  your  will  ?  Your  sense 
of  justice  would  recoil  from  this.  Then  how  can 
you  suppose  the  All- Just  One  to  be  less  just  than 
you  would  be  ?  How  can  repentance,  born  of  the 
terror  of  the  moment,  be  of  the  same  value  as 
a  life  virtuous  throughout  ?  Christ  himself  has, 
with  deep  earnestness,  warned  us  against  this  error. 
Neither  tears,  nor  words,  nor  prayers,  will  avail, 
but  deeds,  works  of  penitence !  "  Wherefore  by 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them ! "  Saith  the 
Lord,  "  Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord  I 


6  IS   SLOW  DECLINE    OR 

Lord  !*  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but 
those  who  do  the  will  of  my  Father  ivhich  is  in 
heaven!"    (Matt.  vii.  20,  21.) 

Sudden  death  is  not,  therefore,  to  be  feared  as 
the  greatest  of  misfortunes,  because  it  deprives  us 
of  the  opportunity  and  of  the  time  necessary  to 
express  our  repentance  and  to  utter  a  few  prayers. 
The  Divine  Son  did  not  teach,  Repent  at  the 
hour  of  death ;  but  he  said,  "  Whoever  takes  up 
my  cross  during  his  lifetime,  and  follows  me,  he  is 
my  disciple  I  "  "Be  perfect,  as  your  Father  in 
heaven  is  perfect."  But  such  perfection  cannot 
be  attained  when  sickness  has  worn  down  our 
strength,  but  only  by  persevering  struggles  against 
our  sensual  desires,  by  self-consecration  according 
to  tlie  words  and  spirit  of  Jesus. 

If,  then,  it  be  blameworthy  to  fear  sudden 
death  for  the  reasons  assigned,  it  is  no  doubt 
equally  blameworthy  to  wish  for  it  from  sheer 
cowardice.  For,  in  reality,  what  can  it  be  but 
cowardice  or  fear  of  the  sufferings  of  a  deadly 
malady,  and  the  approach  of  death  itself,  that 
makes  so  many  wish  to  be  carried  off  as  quickly 
as  possible,  when  their  time  shall  come  ?  To  live 
to  endure  adversity  requires  greater  courage  than 
at  once  to  seek  death.  Of  all  the  circumstances 
that  dishonor  the  suicide,  there  is  none  that  adds 
so  much  to  the  baseness  of  his  dastardly  deed  as 
his  dread  of  life.  For  this  reason  it  was  that 
Divine  wisdom  implanted  so  deeply  in  the  breast 


SUDDEN  DEATH  MOST  DESIRABLE?        7 

of  man  the  love  of  life  and  the  fear  of  death,  — 
that  the  weak  and  timid  race,  overwhelmed  by  its 
earthly  trials,  might  not  fly  too  soon  to  seek  ref- 
uge in  the  grave.  Those  trials  and  sufferings 
were  necessary  to  turn  away  the  mind  from  sen- 
sual objects,  and  to  lift  it  up  and  make  it  grasp 
higher  ones ;  but  the  love  of  life  was  not  the  less 
necessary.  Without  these  fetters,  large  countries 
would  often  have  been  converted  into  deserts,  and 
the  ends  of  God  and  the  destiny  of  man  would 
have  remained  unfulfilled. 

The  wise  man  will  see  the  same  reasons  for 
deeming  a  slow  as  a  rapid  death  desirable ;  but  he 
will  never  see  cause  to  fear  either.  For  he  knows 
the  Lord  that  created  him ;  he  knows  the  voice  of 
the  Lord,  who  speaks  to  us  even  in  the  hour  of 
death,  saying,  "  Fear  not ;  for  I  have  redeemed 
thee,  I  have  called  thee  by  thy  name ;  thou  art 
mine."     (Isaiah  xliii.  1.) 

Fear  not  death,  whether  it  come  early  or  late ; 
whether  it  come  slowly,  through  the  exhaustion 
of  illness,  or  the  decay  of  age ;  or  suddenly,  in 
the  strength  and  enjoyment  of  life,  or  on  the  field 
of  battle,  or  by  some  extraordinary  and  unforeseen 
occurrence.  For  thou  mayst  indeed  look  forward 
to  death,  as  at  night  we  look  forward  to  sleep  ; 
but  thou  wilt  not  know  when  it  comes,  as  little  as 
thou  art  conscious  of  the  exact  moment  when 
thou  sinkest  into  sleep.  They  who  shall  see  thee 
die  will  be  conscious  of  it,  and  shudder.     They 


8  IS  SLOW  DECLINE   OR 

shudder  because  the  love  of  life,  with  which  God 
has  inspired  all  creatures,  recoils  from  that  which 
is  parting  from  life.  But  thou  wilt  as  little  see 
thyself  die  as  thou  hast  ever  seen  thyself  fall 
asleep.  Thou  seest  not  the  film  gathering  over 
thine  eyes,  thou  art  not  alarmed  at  the  increasing 
pallor  of  thy  face,  at  the  coldness  of  thy  limbs, 
which  fill  the  imagination  of  those  who  surround 
thee  with   dismal  images. 

Fear  not  thy  dissolution,  for  thou  knowest  who 
has  redeemed  thee :  it  is  Christ  Jesus  who  has 
shown  thee  the  way  to  heaven,  and  who  has  re- 
vealed to  thee  the  will  of  the  Father ;  by  doing 
which  faithfully  thy  spirit  will  be  ennobled  and 
rendered  worthy  of  entering  into  a  realm  of  glory. 
Thou  knowest,  when  thine  hour  cometh,  who  it  is 
that  has  called  thee  by  thy  name,  and  has  said, 
"  Thou  art  mine !  "  It  is  the  almighty,  the  all- 
loving  Father,  who  has  created  thee,  who  has 
singled  thee  out,  not  for  eternal  suffering  and 
destruction,  but  for  eternal  bliss. 

Fear  not  then,  even  shouldst  thine  end  be  rapid. 
Constant  and  exaggerated  terror  of  death  is  not 
only  unworthy  of  a  Christian,  but  even  of  a  hea- 
then ;  for  this  useless  self-torture  is  in  itself  more 
painful  than  death  can  ever  be.  It  wears  out  the 
spirit,  deprives  us  of  all  capacity  for  joy,  —  which 
is  in  reality  the  true  supporter  of  health  and  life, 
—  weakens  the  body,  and  hastens  the  approach  of 
death,  while  we  are  endeavoring  to  flee  from  it. 


SUDDEN  DEATH  MOST  DESIRABLE?        9 

It  is  well  known  that  fear  is  one  of  the  most  dan- 
gerous poisoners  of  life.  Fear  is  in  itself  deadly, 
life-consuming.  He  who  is  ever  dreading  death 
dies  a  thousand  times,  and  suffers  each  day  of  his 
life,  while  when  death  is  really  at  hand  he  will 
not  be  conscious  of  its  coming. 

Therefore,  cheer  np,  divert  thy  mind,  occupy 
thy  fancy  with  other  images ;  for  it  is  only  thy 
diseased  imagination  that  conjures  up  before  thee 
these  dismal  shadows,  not  thy  rational  conviction. 
Try  to  turn  aside  thy  thoughts,  which  are  so  prone 
to  cling  to  this  painful  subject,  because  thou  hast 
too  often  led  them  in  this  direction.  Every  cheer- 
ful hour  that  thou  enjoyest  is  a  healing  draught, 
and  adds  to  the  length  of  thy  days. 

Fear  not  death,  should  it  even  be  thy  lot  to  die 
suddenly.  Who  knows  what  his  end  may  be? 
Who  can  in  any  way  foretell  whether  he  may  not 
be  cut  off  by  a  fire,  by  the  falling  of  a  tile  from  a 
roof,  by  a  cannon-ball,  by  an  attack  of  apoplexy, 
or  by  some  other  untoward  accident  ?  Therefore, 
prepare  thy  house,  keep  thy  domestic  affairs,  thy 
worldly  concerns,  in  order,  so  that,  if  thou  be 
called  away  suddenly  from  the  midst  of  thy 
friends,  everything  shall  be  found  after  thy  disso- 
lution arranged  with  such  perfect  care,  that  there 
shall  be  no  neglected  parts,  no  confusion.  The 
praise  of  the  living  will  follow  thee ;  the  blessings 
of  thy  loved  ones  will  reach  thee  in  the  eternal 
abodes ;    thou  wilt  have  fulfilled  one  of  the  most 


10  IS  SLOW  DECLINE   OR 

sacred  duties  towards  those  who  are  bound  to  thee 
by  the  ties  of  blood.  We  may  always  take  it  for 
granted,  that  he  who  kept  his  domestic  affairs  in 
order  was  found  prepared  in  those  more  impor- 
tant matters  also  that  lay  between  him  and  God. 
Live  and  act  each  day  so  that  after  thy  death, 
were  it  even  to  take  place  the  next  minute,  thy 
family  shall  not  be  left  in  want,  and  no  blame  shall 
attach  to  thy  name.  For  the  good  name  of  the 
departed  must  ever  be  the  most  blessed  inherit- 
ance to  those  he  leaves  behind.  Arrange  thy 
affairs  so  that  they  may  at  any  moment  be  laid 
before  the  eyes  of  strangers,  as  is  always  more  or 
less  the  case  after  our  demise. 

Prepare  thy  house !  If  thou  leadest  at  all 
times  a  life  of  piety,  innocence,  benevolence,  full 
of  active  well-doing,  and  free  from  hatred  or 
anger,  such  as  Jesus  thy  Saviour  taught  thee, 
then  sudden  death  can  only  be  to  thee  a  sudden 
benefit.  Why  shouldst  thou  dread  to  appear  be- 
fore God  ?  Art  thou  not  ever  in  his  presence  ? 
Hast  thou  not  been,  even  from  thy  birth,  one  of 
his  children,  whom  he  holds  in  his  arms,  whom 
he  watches  over  and  protects  ?  True,  thou 
tremblest  before  his  judgment.  He  knows  thy 
shortcomings ;  but  he  knows  also  thy  earnest 
efforts  to  correct  them.  He  sees  also  the  honest 
fight  which,  in  order  to  be  worthy  of  him,  thou 
fightest  against  the  temptations  to  sin  ;  he  sees 
how  often  thou  hast  resisted  and  overcome   thy 


SUDDEN  DEATH  MOST  DESIRABLE t     H 

tendencies  to  avarice  or  sensual  enjoyment ;  he 
witnesses  thy  endeavors  to  make  amends  for 
every  fault  by  noble  actions.  Ought  a  child  to 
fear  to  appear  before  its  loving  parent,  even 
though  it  have  not  yet  conquered  all  its  faults  ? 
Has  not  Jesus  revealed  to  us  the  infinite  mercy 
of  the  Father  in  all  its  beauty  ?  Has  he  not 
given  us  assurances  of  his  grace  and  his  forgive- 
ness ? 

He  who  ever  walks  before  the  Omnipresent  in 
the  loving  spirit  of  Jesus,  he  need  not  tremble 
before  the  Omnipresent ;  and  to  him  sudden 
death  is  but  an  unexpected  benefaction.  Such 
rapid  passing  away  deprives  death  of  its  sharpest 
pangs :  the  sight  of  the  weeping  loved  ones  that 
surround  us,  the  thought  of  the  sorrow  of  those 
who  are  absent,  which  render  so  difficult  our 
inevitable  departure  from  this  world.  For  to  a 
loving  heart,  what  bitterer  grief  can  death  bring 
than  this  ?  Who  could  behold  without  deep  pain 
the  affliction  of  those  he  is  about  to  leave  ?  Who 
could  remain  unmoved,  when  they  draw  nigh  to 
stretch  forth  for  the  last  time  the  hand  of  faithful 
love  ?  Who  could  remain  untouched,  when  they 
surround  the  death-bed  with  mournful  lamenta- 
tions ? 

Even  the  many  solemn  preparations  for  the 
possible  occurrence  of  our  demise,  the  anxious 
listening  and  watching  of  our  clear  ones,  and  the 
many  other  distressing  circumstances  which  gen- 


12  IS   SLOW  DECLINE   OR 

erally  surround  the  dying,  add  to  the  agony  of 
these  last  moments.  Therefore,  God  often  sends 
to  his  children  sudden  death.  He  relieves  them 
from  the  afflicting  necessity  of  witnessing  the 
fruitless,  and  sometimes  immoderate,  grief  of 
those  who  remain  behind. 

Death  itself,  the  falling  asleep,  has  no  bitter- 
ness. It  is  not  a  suffering,  it  cannot  be  so,  for  it 
is  the  end  of  all  suffering,  in  which  pain  must 
already  have  ceased.  It  is  the  sickness  alone 
which  is  distressing ;  but  sickness  is  not  death,  it 
only  slowly  introduces  the  latter.  He  whom  God 
calls  suddenly  from  this  world  is  even  spared  the 
trials  of  a  bed  of  illness.  He  dies  without  having 
tasted  of  death.  Between  his  earthly  and  his 
heavenly  life  scarce  a  moment  intervenes.  With- 
out care,  without  fear,  without  pain,  he  passes 
from  this  life  into  a  better  and  higher  existence, 
like  one  who  passes  from  dreaming  to  waking. 
He  knows  nothing  of  the  struggle  between  death 
and  the  instinctive  love  of  life ;  in  him  there  is  no 
longing  to  remain  with  his  loved  ones,  no  repining 
for  what  he  is  about  to  leave,  no  anxious  look- 
ing forward  to  what  awaits  him. 

No,  I  do  not  look  upon  sudden  death  as  a  pun- 
ishment of  God,  but  as  one  of  his  sweetest  boons. 
Thus  he  called  unto  himself  an  Elias  and  an 
Enoch. 

How  could  that  be  an  evil,  O  Thou,  the 
Allgood  !  that  cometh  from  thy  hand  ?     Lord  of 


SUDDEN  DEATH  MOST  DESIRABLE?     13 


the  seraph  and  of  the  worm,  Ruler  of  life  and 
death,  I  am  in  thy  hand  ;  do  unto  me  as  thou 
deemest  fit ;  for  what  thou  dost  is  well  done. 
When  thou  didst  call  me  from  nothing  into  life, 
thou  didst  will  my  happiness  ;  when  thou  callest 
me  away  from  life,  will  my  happiness  be  less  thy 
care  ?  No,  no,  thou  art  Love,  and  whosoever 
dwells  in  love,  dwells  in  thee,  O  Lord,  and  thou 
in  him.  Thou,  Lord,  art  my  light  and  my  sal- 
vation ;  why  should  I  tremble  ?  Thou  art  the 
Lord  of  my  life ;  what  should  I  dread  ? 


FEAR    OF    DEATH 


Part  I. 


It  is  fulfilled  !  once  —  to  the  cross  fast  bound, 
His  bitterest  hour  past  —  the  Saviour  cried, 

His  flesh  transpierced  with  wounds,  his  head  thorn-crowned, 
Cried  he  to  Him  in  whom  he  could  confide  ; 

Nor  vainly  cried  he,  for  the  hour  drew  nigh 

That  ended  all  his  mortal  agony. 

It  is  fulfilled  !     Though  yet  a  short  delay, 

I  also  once  must  cry,  and  that  erelong  ; 
Then  shall  I  go  where  tears  are  wiped  away, 

Where  sickness  cometh  never  more,  nor  wrong  : 
The  heart  that 's  filled  with  love  and  trusting  faith 
Knows  what  it  still  may  hope  for,  e'en  in  death. 

(2  Cor.  v.  1-5.) 


we   mortals   could  foresee  from   our 
cradle   all   the    events    and   sufferings 


that   await   us,    many   would   tremble 
more  at  life   than    at   the  closino;  act 
of  it  which  we  call  death. 

Life  has  often  been  metaphorically  represented 
as  a  journey  begun  without  our  willing  it,  and 
ended  without  our  willing  it.  On  we  speed  with 
restless  haste.     We  set  out  in  the  dim  dawn  of 


FEAR   OF  DEATH.  15 

morning,  emerging  from  the  unknown  depths  of 
night,  and  hurrying  towards  another  night.  From 
beginning  to  end  it  is  the  work  of  God. 

Minutes  vanish,  hours  fly  past  us  :  fain  would 
we  linger  among  the  first  flowers  that  smile  to  us 
in  the  rosy  morn  of  youth  !  But  a  hidden  power 
urges  us  on,  the  flowers  fall  withered  from  our 
hand,  the  hot  midday  sun  of  life  is  already  glow- 
ing above  our  heads.  We  discover  shady  spots, 
whose  refreshing  shelter  invites  us  to  repose ;  and 
gladly  would  we  rest.  But  no !  we  must  speed 
on.  We  endeavor  in  vain  to  hold  fast  the  joys 
we  find  by  the  wayside.  They  escape.  Already 
the  sunset  reddens  the  sky,  and  behind  the  lurid 
glare  night  is  stealthily  approaching.  Willingly 
would  we  pause  to  enjoy,  in  longer  draughts,  the 
coolness  of  the  lovely  evening.  But  onwards! 
onwards  !  cries  an  unknown  voice.  We  cling  in 
vain  to  the  objects  we  meet,  to  stay  the  speed  of 
our  progress.  It  is  but  a  futile  effort;  they  are 
carried  along  with  us  down  the  rapid  stream. 
The  colors  of  the  sunset  fade ;  darkness  envel- 
ops all  things ;  light  is  extinguished ;  earth  van- 
ishes ;  our  senses  rest ;  the  journey  is  accom- 
plished. We  are  surrounded  by  night ;  men  have 
forgotten  us. 

Such  is  our  lot.  We  all  know  it.  You  do  not 
shudder  at  the  night  from  which  you  have  emerged 
into  this  life,  —  why  should  you  shudder  at  the 
night  into  which   you   are  to  pass?     Are  these 


IQ  FEAR   OF  DEATH. 

wonderful  transformations  of  existence  your  own 
work  ?  No  ;  they  are  the  unalterable  consequen- 
ces of  the  wise  laws  of  a  Higher  Power. 

What,  then,  is  that  which  we  call  to  die  ?  To 
go  out  like  a  light,  and  in  a  sweet  trance  to  forget 
ourselves  and  all  the  passing  phenomena  of  the 
day,  as  we  forget  the  phantoms  of  a  fleeting 
dream ;  to  form,  as  in  a  dream,  new  connections 
with  God's  world ;  to  enter  into  a  more  exalted 
sphere,  and  to  make  a  new  step  up  man's  gradu- 
ated ascent  of  creation. 

We  know  naught  of  the  world  beyond  this ; 
nor  can  it  be  revealed  or  expressed  to  mortal  man, 
because  it  exceeds  all  his  previous  experiences,  and 
he  lacks  the  senses  wherewith  to  comprehend  it. 
How  could  you  explain  to  one  born  blind  the 
feeling  of  delight  awakened  in  you  by  the  con- 
templation of  a  beautiful  form,  or  by  the  spectacle 
of  early  morn  in  spring  among  flowers  ?  If  the 
soul  of  an  animal  should  ever  be  clad  in  human 
form,  and  with  this  should  receive  the  light  of 
reason,  would  this  new  human  soul,  do  you  think, 
long  to  return  to  its  first  animal  state,  when  in 
dull  monotony  it  could  only  brood  over  the  pres- 
ent as  it  passed  by,  and  know  of  naught  but  what 
was  immediately  before  it  ? 

Why,  then,  do  we  fear  death,  which  is  but  the 
certain  transition  to  a  better  state  ?  Why  do  we, 
when  we  think  of  dissolution,  treasure  more 
highly  our  existence  as  it  is ;   although  there  are 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  17 

but  few  among  us  who,  if  they  had  the  choice, 
would  care  to  live  their  life  over  again,  with  its 
many  hours  of  suffering,  its  follies  and  its  self- 
torturings,  unless  they  might  be  allowed  to  intro- 
duce some   chancres  ? 

There  are  two  sources  from  whence  spring  the 
fear  of  death,  which  more  especially  deserve  our 
attention. 

1.  The  Deity  himself  has  intimately  interwo- 
ven with  our  whole  beino;  an  instinctive  love  of 
life.  Hence  the  general  revolt  of  our  nature 
against  dissolution  in  all  its  forms. 

Were  it  not  for  this  strong  and  almost  uncon- 
querable love  of  life,  were  it  not  for  this  natural 
shrinking  from  death,  the  earth  would  already 
now  be  a  depopulated  desert.  Man  has  to  en- 
counter in  this  world  numberless  dangers,  which 
would  long  ago  have  destroyed  him,  had  not  the 
love  of  life  given  him  courage  to  resist  them,  and 
had  not  this  courage,  in  its  turn,  given  him  the 
power  to  conquer  them.  To  many  a  man  his  self- 
inflicted  sufferings,  or  even  his  blind  fear  of  mis- 
fortune, soon  render  life  intolerable,  and  he  would 
sink  down  before  he  had  attained  the  goal  of  his 
journey,  did  not  his  dread  of  the  dark  mystery  of 
the  grave  make  him  gird  himself  up,  and  recon- 
cile him  to  the  labors  of  the  day.  Already,  dark 
despair  with  dim-eyed  frenzy  approaches  the  brink 
of  the  abyss,  and  resolves  upon  passing  over  into 
the  quiet  land  of  death;   but  life  puts   on  new 


18  FEAR   OF  DEATH. 

smiles,  and  hope,  which  ever  accompanies  it, 
plucks  the  dagger  from  the  upraised  hand.  It  is 
the  Divine  will  that  we  should  live  to  ripen  for 
a  higher  destiny;  therefore  have  we  been  bound 
to  life  by  the  tenderest  yet  strongest  ties. 

Without  this  passionate  love  of  life,  the  contin- 
uation of  our  existence  after  death  would  be  in- 
different to  us,  and  we  should  never  earnestly  set 
about  preparing  ourselves  for  higher  perfection. 
But  the  passion  for  life  is  implanted  in  us,  and 
with  it  follows  the  desire  for  continued  existence 
even  after  the  change  in  death.  And  to  the  hope 
of  eternity  is  joined  the  feeling  of  the  necessity  of 
rendering  ourselves  worthy  of  a  higher  life  here- 
after. 

Thus  this  inborn  love,  this  instinctive  clinajna; 
to  life,  becomes  to  us  a  Divine  revelation  of  the 
continuance  of  our  existence  after  death.  And 
not  only  has  the  Christian  received  this  spirit-stir- 
ring revelation  through  Christ  Jesus,  but  to  all 
nations  of  the  earth  it  has  been  vouchsafed. 

The  wildest  savage  who  roams  the  woods  in 
still  undiscovered  lands  looks  with  the  same  joy- 
ous hope  towards  eternity  as  did  the  sage  of  an- 
tiquity. 

But  man  errs  grossly  when  he  allows  this  in- 
stinctive love  to  degenerate  into  an  unnatural  and 
tormenting  passion  for  life,  which  leads  him  to 
entertain  an  unreasonable  fear  of  death,  and  to 
place  an  exaggerated  value  upon  existence  here 
on  earth. 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  19 

In  many  cases  it  is  only  a  morbid  state  of  the 
body  which  causes  us  to  surround  death  in  imagi- 
nation with  shadowy  terrors,  —  a  tendency  to  mel- 
ancholy, which,  when  permitted  to  gain  ground, 
harasses  us  with  a  constant  and  blind  dread  of 
dissolution.  Not  the  real  change  which  takes 
place  in  death,  but  the  false  images  of  it  which 
float  before  the  imagination,  are  calculated  to 
awaken  terror ;  and  these  man  has  himself  created 
for  his  own  torment. 

This  distressing  tendency  of  mind  is  frequently 
nothing  more  than  the  result  of  a  too  sedentary 
life,  and  the  consequent  thickening  of  the  humors 
of  the  body,  and  the  obstruction  by  these  of  the 
delicate  play  of  the  nerves.  It  may  sometimes  be 
more  readily  overcome  by  exercise,  work,  and 
amusement,  than  by  the  best-founded  consolatory 
arguments.  The  condition  of  a  person  who  is  in 
constant  dread  of  illness,  or  of  death,  is  very  sad, 
and  it  would  be  advisable  to  consign  him  to  the 
care  of  a  skilful  physician. 

We  ought  never,  either  to  ourselves  or  to 
others,  to  depict  death  and  the  grave  in  more 
sombre  colors  than  in  reality  belong  to  either. 
Gloomy  images  of  this  kind  only  serve  to  disturb 
the  imagination,  and  they  exercise  a  baneful  influ- 
ence over  weak  minds. 

The  dying  are  as  little  conscious  of  the  transi- 
tion from  life  to  death  as  the  weary  are  aware  of 
the  transition  from  the  waking  to   the    sleeping 


20  FEAR    OF  DEATH. 

state.  We  have  known  many  persons  who  on 
the  last  bed  of  sickness  have  awaited  with  full 
consciousness  the  moment  of  dissolution,  and 
have  even  predicted  it.  Their  imaginations  had 
not  been  previously  excited,  they  fell  asleep  smil- 
ing and  without  a  fear,  as  should  every  Christian 
who  believes  in  God,  and  who  treasures  up  in  a 
pious  heart  a  full  trust  in  his  infinite  goodness. 
That  change  which  the  spectator  who  stands  by 
the  bedside  sees  in  the  face  of  the  dying,  they  see 
not  themselves.  Illness  may  be  painful ;  its  cessa- 
tion cannot  be  so. 

When  we  shudder  at  the  sight  of  the  lifeless 
corpse,  which  lies  before  us  cold  and  stiff,  pale  and 
breathless,  having  no  sympathy  with  our  feelings, 
no  pity  for  our  tears,  as  though  it  had  never 
belonged  to  us,  and  never  known  us,  this  shud- 
der is  caused  by  self-deception  only.  If  we  look 
narrowly  into  ourselves  at  such  times,  we  shall 
find  that  we  pity  the  dead  for  all  he  has  lost.  But 
he  knows  of  no  loss.  We  picture  to  ourselves 
how  tenderly  he  loved  us,  how  he  would  fain  have 
remained  with  us,  how  he  has  been  separated  from 
us  by  an  unknown  hand,  and  how  vainly  we 
sought  to  keep  him  back.  But  the  dead  knows 
naught  of  this,  and  even  in  his  last  days  and 
hours  these  sad  thoughts  and  feelings  were  far  less 
vividly  present  to  him  than  they  are  generally  to 
persons  in  health.  He  has  vanished  from  the 
realm  of  this  life,  and  has  left  to  us  his  ashes,  his 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  21 

earthly  raiment,  this  icy  statue,  which  we  loved 
when  it  was  animated  by  the  soul,  but  which 
never  belonged  to  him,  and  which  will  now  return 
to  the  elements  out  of  which  it  was  gradually 
built  up. 

Not  to  death  itself  belongs  terror,  but  to  the 
fancies  we  connect  with  it.  Carry  your  mind 
away  from  these  to  the  simple  fact,  and  it  will  lose 
most  of  its  gloom  in  your  eyes. 

Another  unnatural  deviation  from  the  instinc- 
tive love  of  life  that  God  has  implanted  in  us,  is 
the  passionate  clinging  to  life  which  many  persons 
evince,  and  the  undue  value  which  they  attach  to 
it.  Life  has  no  value  except  in  as  far  as  we  use 
it  for  perfecting  our  souls,  for  enriching  our  minds 
with  nobler  qualities,  and  for  spreading  happiness 
around  us.  When  we  can  no  longer  do  this, 
when,  as  in  extreme  old  age,  all  hope  of  again 
being  able  to  exert  ourselves  in  this  way  ceases, 
then  this  life  has  lost  its  highest  value,  and  a  new 
existence  becomes  desirable. 

Exalted  souls,  ye  know  of  nobler  possessions 
than  life  !  Ye  who  have  gone  to  meet  the  hero's 
death  for  the  freedom  and  welfare  of  your  father- 
land and  thousands  of  oppressed  fellow-citizens  ; 
ye  who,  to  uphold  the  truth  of  Jesus  Christ's 
religion,  have  courageously  chosen  the  path  of 
the  grave ;  ye  who  have  preferred  death  to  a  life 
without  dignity  and  without  virtue,  —  ye  knew  the 
true  value  of  existence.      Ye   died   courageously 


22  FEAR    OF  DEATH. 

in  the  service  of  virtue,  in  the  performance  of 
heavenly  deeds.  Your  death  is  more  enviable 
than  the  life  of  thousands  !  Ye  blessed  ones,  ye 
teach  those  that  remain  behind  what  their  lives 
ought  to  be.     (Matt.  xvi.  25.) 

Life  has  no  worth  except  through  our  virtues, 
through  the  happiness  that  we  prepare  for  others. 
He  therefore,  who,  like  the  animal,  only  lives  to 
satisfy  his  hunger  and  his  thirst,  without  any 
effort  to  prepare  his  mind  for  a  future  nobler  ex- 
istence ;  he  who  lives  merely  to  tickle  his  palate 
with  daintier  viands  and  more  exquisite  wines  than 
other  men  ;  he  who  lives  but  to  clothe  his  body 
in  finer  raiment  than  other  men,  to  satisfy  his 
vanity  and  to  display  his  miserable  pride,  —  futili- 
ties that  must  vanish  on  the  brink  of  the  grave,  — 
his  existence  has  no  worth,  his  death  deserves  no 
tear. 

Frequently,  again,  the  passionate  clinging  to  life 
is  but  a  consequence  of  too  great  a  love  and  anx- 
iety for  those  we  may  leave  behind  us.  We  trem- 
ble at  death  because  it  will  tear  us  from  the  arms 
of  a  beloved  husband  or  wife.  We  shrink  back 
from  the  grave  because,  when  we  shall  descend 
into  it,  dear  children  will  stand  around  it,  —  poor 
orphans  without  education,  without  protection, 
without  support. 

For  this  reason  we  often  see  that  young  persons, 
who  have  no  innocent  dear  ones  depending  on 
them,  die  more  composedly  than  parents,  whose 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  23 

eyes  are  fixed  lovingly  upon  their  children.  But 
even  in  such  cases  the  mind  of  a  Christian  ought 
not  to  be  overwhelmed  by  the  fear  of  death.  It 
is  not  thou,  O  father,  nor  thou,  O  mother,  who 
hast  hitherto  protected  thy  child  :  it  is  God  !  God 
is  the  father  of  the  orphan ;  the  same  God  who 
watches  over  the  life  and  the  well-being  of  the 
humblest  worm.  If  he  wills  the  welfare  of  thy 
children,  verily  no  human  power  shall  prevail 
against  them.  If  God  should  call  thee  from  them, 
hasten  joyfully  to  the  Heavenly  Father ;  the  time 
will  come  when  he  will  call  thy  children  also. 

2.  The  second  chief  source  whence  springs  the 
fear  of  death,  is  the  turning  away  of  men's  hearts 
from  the  eternal  truths  of  religion. 

You  are,  it  is  true,  baptized  in  Christ ;  you  con- 
fess him  in  the  Holy  Supper ;  you  perform  the 
customary  rites  of  religion  ;  but  do  you  also  walk 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ  and  of  his  commandments  ? 
Are  you  conscious  of  your  God,  and  at  one  with 
him  in  the  depths  of  a  pious  heart?  Do  you  at 
all  times  walk  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord  ?  Do  you 
at  all  times  aim  at  being  just  ?  Do  you  do  all 
the  good  that  is  in  your  power  ?  Have  you  made 
peace  with  your  enemies  ?  Is  your  conscience 
troubled  by  the  remembrance  of  secret  sins  ? 

The  religious  man  stands  highest  in  the  human 
scale  on  earth.  With  his  eyes  fixed  on  eternity, 
with  his  hands  stretched  forth  to  do  good,  he  walks 
in  and  with  God ;  calm  amid  storms  and  tempests, 


24  FEAR   OF  DEATH. 

blessed  with  the  peace  that  God  alone  can  bestow. 
But  never  does  the  sublimity  of  religion  appear  in 
a  more  beneficent  light  than  in  the  hour  of  death, 
or  even  when  connected  with  the  mere  thought  of 
the  tomb.  It  is  then  that  its  most  blessed  power 
is  revealed. 

A  sensual,  uncultivated  man,  when  he  thinks 
of  death,  feels  the  fearful  isolation  of  his  spirit, 
and  anticipates  the  annihilation  of  all  that  he  pos- 
sesses. What  is  his  spirit  when  deprived  of  that 
which  has  hitherto  constituted  its  delights  ?  He 
has  never  contemplated  a  higher  destiny ;  what  is 
to  become  of  him  then  when  he  loses  the  earthly 
things,  which  alone  he  knows  and  values  ?  He 
is  descending  into  the  grave,  and  behind  him 
he  leaves  merry  feasts,  gilded  honors,  costly  gar- 
ments, the  flatteries  of  parasites,  the  obsequious- 
ness of  dependents,  the  heaped-up  treasures  which 
covetous  heirs  rush  to  divide.  Poorer  than  the 
beggar  that  used  to  hang  about  his  door  he  stands 
before  the  portals  of  eternity:  he  has  lost  his  all; 
he  knew  but  one  world, — his  earthly  home.  What 
is  now  to  become  of  him? 

O  religion,  O  sweet  peace  of  conscience,  and 
thou,  O  union  of  my  soul  with  the  Most  High, 
do  not  abandon  me !  Alas  for  him  who  only 
stretches  forth  his  arms  towards  you,  when  all 
earthly  things  are  melting  away !  Alas  for  him 
who  does  not  fix  his  eyes  on  a  higher  existence 
until  he  feels  this  sublunary  world  giving  way  un- 
der his  feet ! 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  25 

O  Jesus,  in  thy  holy  revelation  I  will  live,  and 
in  it  I  will  die.  Blessed  is  the  power  of  thy 
word ;  to  it  the  power  of  death  must  yield.  I  live 
to  thee,  and  I  shall  not  die.  There  is  no  death, 
there  is  no  grave  ;  it  is  but  change  and  glorification. 
God  is  no  God  of  death ;  he  is  our  life.  He  cre- 
ated life,  and  my  spirit  is  his  work.  My  spirit  is 
life,  while  it  animates  my  body,  and  remains  life, 
when  the  dust,  which  for  a  time  clothed  it  as  a 
garment,  and  which  was  to  it  as  an  instrument, 
returns  again  to  dust. 

Heavenly  and  eternal  Father,  Source  of  all 
being,  thou  from  whom  I  spring,  unto  whom  I 
shall  return,  —  thine  I  shall  ever  be  !  Sweet  is 
life,  in  truth,  but  death  has  nevertheless  no  terrors ; 
no  fear  of  it  shall  overwhelm  me,  shall  turn  me 
away  from  thee  and  from  the  path  of  virtue.  I 
hold  as  naught  the  days  that  I  do  not  adorn  with 
good  deeds  ;  I  hold  as  naught  a  life  which  I  cannot 
glorify  by  virtue. 

And  me  also,  me  also,  O  God,  thou  wilt  call 
unto  thyself  when  my  hour  comes,  when  my  earth- 
ly goal  is  reached.  Blessed  shall  I  then  be  if  I 
can  say  unto  myself,  I  have  fought  a  good  fight ; 
as  far  as  my  powers  allowed,  I  have  completed  a 
life  of  well-doing ;  the  crown  of  eternal  life  awaits 
me  also  ! 

And  when  in  the  last  hour  I  have  to  taste  the 
bitterness  of  death,  to  drain  the  final  cup  of  trial ; 
when  my  stiffened  hand  can  no  longer  bestow  a 


26  FEAR   OF  DEATH. 

blessing  on  my  loved  ones,  from  whose  sorrowful 
eyes  the  tears  of  parting  are  falling  on  my  pillow, 
my  closed  lips  can  no  longer  utter  words  of  love, 
of  love  true  unto  death ;  when  the  stir  of  the 
world  and  all  the  sweet  sounds  of  life  cease  to 
fall  upon  my  ear,  —  then,  then,  O  Lord  !  I  com- 
mend my  soul  to  thee.  Joyfully  I  turn  away  my 
dimmed  eyes  from  those  who  are  dear  to  my  heart, 
for  I  know  they  are  in  thy  keeping.  Thou  abidest 
with  them  as  thou  abidest  with  me,  forevermore 
in  the  regions  of  eternal  life. 

No,  I  fear  not  death,  0  Father  of  life!  For 
death  is  not  eternal  sleep ;  it  is  the  transition  to  a 
new  life,  a  moment  of  great  and  glorious  trans- 
formation, an  ascension  towards  Thee. 

Yet  we  cannot  deem  unpardonable  the  tear  that 
is  wept  over  the  bier  of  a  beloved  object.  O 
Source  of  all  Love,  thine  eye  penetrates  our  in- 
most being.  Thou  seest  the  bleeding  heart  of  the 
mother  standing  by  the  coffin  of  her  child,  which 
carries  with  it  into  the  grave  her  brightest  hopes. 
Thou  knowest  the  heart-rending  grief  of  the 
father  who  has,,  by  the  death  of  a  beloved  son 
or  daughter,  been  bereft  of  every  happiness  in  this 
life.  May  thy  Spirit,  the  blessed  Comforter,  pen- 
etrate our  souls,  and  inspire  with  its  strength  our 
poor  human  hearts !  Alas !  we  are  but  mortals. 
We  are  overwhelmed  by  the  power  of  the  moment : 
angels  would  in  such  moments  praise  thee ! 

Finally,  the  death  of  our  loved  one  sweetens  our 


FEAR   OF  DEATH. 


27 


own  death,  which  leads  us  towards  eternal  reunion. 
The  affectionate  words  of  Christ  are  an  earnest  to 
us  of  a  more  joyful  futurity.  We  also  shall  one 
day  be  with  our  loved  ones  in  paradise.  Amen,  O 
God  and  Father!    So  be  it.     Amen. 


FEAR    OF    DEATH. 


Part  II. 


Away,  pale  fear  of  death,  away ! 

Kejoice  thyself  in  death,  my  heart, 
The  cold  corpse  will  rejoin  its  clay, 

And  grief  shall  end,  and  pain's  sharp  smart, 
And  the  well  of  tears  shall  dry 
When  the  dust  in  dust  shall  lie. 

Thou  healest  every  wound,  0  death  ! 

Thy  touch  at  once  each  sorrow  charms ; 
As  departs  my  failing  breath, 

Flee  I  unto  angels'  arms. 
Though  enclosed  within  the  grave, 
Light  and  freedom  shall  I  have. 

Father,  for  each  earthly  pleasure 

Heart-felt  thanks  from  me  receive. 
Thanks,  should  grief  o'erflow  the  measure, 

Father,  still  my  soul  shall  give  : 
Shouldst  thou  take  them  both  from  me, 
Yet  more  gladly  praise  I  thee ! 

(2  Cor.  v.  1.) 

COLD  shudder  seizes  me  at  the  thought 
of  death,  and  every  fibre  of  my  body 
seems  to  struo-ole  against  the  feeling  of 
dissolution  and  separation.  And  yet, 
however  much  my  whole  being  may  revolt  against 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  29 

it,  like  others  I  must  die.  I  see  pass  by  me  to  the 
grave  the  corpse  of  the  child  faded  in  the  bud,  and 
of  the  old  man  worn  out  with  years.  The  ashes 
of  the  maiden,  called  away  in  her  early  bloom,  min- 
gle with  those  of  the  man  whom  some  dire  event, 
some  unforeseen  accident,  has  cut  oft'  in  the 
prime  of  his  manhood  and  activity.  And  my 
corpse,  too,  will  one  day  be  laid  among  the  rest. 

Why  am  I  alive  ?  Why  should  not  death  be  as 
familiar  to  me  as  life,  as  both  come  to  me  without 
my  will  and  without  my  knowledge  ? 

Sobbing  with  grief,  the  faithful  husband  stands 
by  the  coffin  of  his  dear  partner,  his  second  self, 
her  whom  he  called  the  better  half  of  his  heart ; 
with  similar  grief  a  devoted  child  remembers  an 
affectionate  father,  or  a  gentle,  loving  mother,  who 
has  been  taken  from  him,  alas !  too  soon  ;  pain- 
full v  fall  the  tears  of  the  sorrowing  bride  on  the 
cold  clay  of  her  beloved,  whose  death  is  to  her  the 
death  of  every  hope  in  life  ;  deep  is  the  sadness 
with  which  father  or  mother  contemplates  the  little 
grave  which  covers  the  remains  of  the  darling  child, 
whose  innocence  and  grace  so  often  delighted  their 
hearts,  and  filled  their  views  of  the  future  with 
soul-elevating  images. 

Wherefore  do  I  weep  ?  And  wherefore  do  you 
weep,  who  have  lost  beloved  ones  ?  Is  it  for  the 
dead,  because  they  have  to  leave  all  that  is  dear  to 
them,  —  to  leave  a  life  which  has  bestowed  so  many 
pleasures,  and   promises  so  many  more  ?     O  un- 


30  FEAR   OF  DEATH. 

called-for  compassion  !  Do  we  pity  each  night  our 
dear  ones  when  they  fall  asleep,  or  do  we  pity  our- 
selves when  we  go  to  rest  ?  Yet  what  difference 
is  there  between  sleep  and  death  ?  True,  he  who 
falls  asleep  feels  a  profound  assurance  that  with 
the  rising  sun  he  will  awake  again  with  renewed, 
strength  ;  while  the  dying  has  not  so  near  a  hope. 
But  when  he  awakes  he  will  find  instead  of  you 
the  long  lost  dear  ones  that  have  gone  before  him  ; 
he  will  find  his  God,  who  will  be  more  to  him 
than  you  could  ever  be,  poor  orphans  !  he  finds  a 
blessed  state  that  will  endure  forever  ;  nay,  he  will 
in  a  short  time  even  find  you  again.  For  what  is 
the  duration  of  even  the  longest  life  on  earth  ? 
Ask  the  old  man  of  threescore  and  ten,  and  he 
will  tell  you,  —  "  So  little  have  I  retained  of  my 
life,  that  it  seems  to  me  but  a  summer  night's 
dream  of  threescore  minutes  and  ten."  Then, 
wherefore  do  we  weep  ?  Even  sleep  causes  sep- 
aration ;  and  the  separation  in  death,  is  it  for  a 
much  longer  term  ? 

Nay,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  say  good  night  to 
our  dying  friends  with  the  same  calm  composure 
with  which  we  take  leave  of  each  other  in  the 
evening,  when,  looking  confidently  beyond  the 
night,  we  enjoy  in  advance  the  pleasures  of  the 
coming  morn  ;  or  we  ought  to  whisper  our  friendly 
farewell  as  though  they  were  about  to  set  out  on  a 
safe  journey  to  a  pleasant  land,  to  the  house  of  our 
Father,  the  home  of  our  loved  ones,  whence  an 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  31 

invitation  has  gone  forth  to  them,  and  whither  we 
shall  follow  erelonff. 

In  truth,  when  divested  of  all  the  gloomy  sub- 
ordinate circumstances  with  which  my  imagination 
invests  death,  it  is  not  so  terrible.  No  one  would 
think  of  it  as  dreadful  had  he  never  seen  a  dead 
corpse,  —  the  pallor,  coldness,  and  stony  impassive- 
ness  of  which  causes  a  shudder;  did  he  know 
naught  of  death  but  that  it  is  a  transformation  of 
our  souls,  a  passing  away  to  a  happier  and  more 
blessed  home. 

It  is  to  our  imaginations  we  owe  the  gloomy 
thoughts  that  most  distress  us  ;  in  the  fulness  of 
our  health  and  strength,  and  our  love  of  life,  we 
fancy  ourselves  in  the  place  of  the  dying,  and  thus 
we  experience  grief  that  he  knows  not,  and  endure 
pains  that  he  does  not  suffer.  We  fancy  ourselves 
in  the  dark  tomb,  and  behold  the  members  of  the 
body  being  converted  into  dust,  and  the  grave 
seems  to  us  the  end  of  all  life. 

But  if  we  set  aside  these  terrific  images,  the  off- 
spring of  our  own  brains,  which  have  no  existence 
in  reality,  we  shall  find  little  difference  between 
sleep  and  death.  Numbers  of  persons,  who  in 
their  lifetime  have  entertained  a  most  unreasonable 
fear  of  death,  have  ultimately  passed  away  with  a 
cheerfulness  and  serene  composure  which  they 
never  expected. 

It  is  still  more  unreasonable  to  picture  to  our- 
selves the  moment  of  the  soul's  parting  from  the 


32  FEAR   OF  DEATH. 

body  as  especially  painful.  Whether  this  disrup- 
tion causes  suffering  to  the  body,  no  one  is  able  to 
tell.  The  spasmodic  twitching  of  the  muscles 
(which  in  many  cases  indeed  does  not  take  place) 
is  distressing  to  behold,  but  is  painless  as  a  sensa- 
tion. With  the  exception  of  falling  asleep,  nothing 
is  so  similar  to  the  passing  away  in  death  as  the 
sinking  of  a  person  into  a  swoon  ;  yet  he  who 
faints  experiences  little  or  no  suffering  before  un- 
consciousness ensues.  Perhaps,  if  artificial  stimu- 
lants were  not  applied  to  restore  to  his  nervous 
system  the  power  of  serving  the  soul,  he  would 
pass  from  the  swoon  into  death  without  any  further 
sensation.  Such  also  is  the  condition  of  all  those 
who,  reduced  to  unconsciousness  by  excessive  cold, 
are  eventually  restored  to  life.  Their  limbs  are  be- 
numbed, their  blood  flows  slower  and  slower,  and 
finally  the  body  stiffens  as  in  death.  The  only 
sensation  they  experience  is  unconquerable  drowsi- 
ness, and  desire  to  lie  down  and  rest ;  and  though 
they  may  be  perfectly  conscious  that  sleep  is  likely 
to  end  in  death,  they  nevertheless  brave  it  that 
they  may  enjoy  the  delight  of  sleep. 

It  is  thus  established  that  the  moment  of  dissolu- 
tion has  in  itself  nothing  that  is  terrible,  that  very 
few  persons  are  clearly  conscious  of  it,  and  that  it 
is  the  imagination  of  the  survivors  that  invests  it 
with  horrors.  And  yet  even  in  this  case  it  is  not 
the  act  of  dying  itself  that  seems  so  terrible,  but 
the  thought,  What  shall  I  be  when  I  have  ceased 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  33 

to  belong  to  humanity,  when  I  have -been  stripped 
of  my  human  form  ?  It  is  this  uncertainty  as  to 
all  that  is  in  store  for  us  that  fills  us  with  awe. 
The  darkness  that  envelopes  the  future  makes  us 
rejoice  doubly  in  the  broad  daylight  that  surrounds 
us  ;  we  learn  to  appreciate  that  which  we  possess ; 
and  we  tremble  at  the  thought  of  exchanging  all 
that  is  familiar  to  us  for  a  state  of  which  we  can 
hardly  form  a  conception. 

Had  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  vouchsafed  to  us 
in  this  life  a  knowledge  of  what  is  to  come  in  the 
next,  verily  the  grave  would  cease  to  be  a  barrier, 
and  a  small  number  only  would  await  patiently  the 
natural  hour  of  death. 

But  the  very  uncertainty  in  which  we  are  left 
constitutes  the  strongest  tie  that  binds  to  life  the 
impatient  and  the  frivolous,  who  are  apt  to  be 
thrown  into  despair  by  the  slightest  adversity,  and 
prevents  them  from  cutting  short  the  term  of  trial 
appointed  for  them.  It  is  this  that  surrounds  death 
with  such  awe,  that  all  who  are  not  bereft  of  rea- 
son shrink  back  from  it. 

But  even  this  uncertainty  is  only  terrifying  as 
long  as  the  future  world  seems  far  off ;  in  the  hour 
of  death  it  changes  character.  Then  it  is  the  life 
that  lies  behind  us  that  appears  dark  and  vague  ; 
while  the  future,  with  its  new  existence,  is  irradi- 
ated by  the  light  of  certainty.  The  dying  man 
makes  up  his  account  with  the  world,  once  more 
bestows  his  blessing  upon  his  dear  ones,  and  turns 
2*  c 


34  FEAR    OF  DEATH. 

away  from  all-  that  he  loves  best,  in  order  to  shut 
himself  up  within  himself,  and  to  pass  over  into 
the  happier  existence.  The  past  has  no  charms  for 
him  ;  he  is  attracted  solely  by  the  new  world,  on 
the  threshold  of  which  he  stands. 

However,  it  is  not  to  all  that  death  loses  its 
terrors.  It  is  with  reason  that  the  sinner  trembles 
when  he  beholds  it  in  the  distance,  and  still  more 
so  when  he  finds  himself  inevitably  face  to  face 
with  it. 

But  who  is  the  sinner  ?  Every  one  to  whom 
this  earthly  life  is  all  in  all,  and  to  whom  the 
Divine  element  in  it  is  nothing  ;  every  one  who 
lives  for  this  world  as  were  it  never  to  end ;  every 
one  who  thinks  more  of  the  gratification  of  his 
senses  than  of  the  improvement  of  his  immortal 
spirit ;  every  one  who  wastes  year  after  year  in 
endeavoring  to  increase  his  earthly  possessions  and 
dignities,  who  lives  but  to  adorn  his  person,  to 
enjoy  frivolous  pleasures,  to  triumph  over  his  rivals 
and  opponents  ;  in  a  word,  to  secure  to  himself 
such  earthly  goods  as  seem  to  him  most  desirable, 
while  he  feels  it  irksome  to  devote  a  moment  to  the 
perfecting  of  his  undying  soul. 

When  such  a  one  dies,  his  soul  is  in  death  even 
poorer  than  in  the  first  hour  of  his  birth,  when  at 
least  it  possessed  the  jewel  innocence.  He  dies, 
and  his  spirit  sinks  into  nothingness  ;  for  earthly 
goods  were  everything  to  him,  and  he  himself  was 
but  an  instrument   of  rude  passions.     What  be- 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  35 

comes  of  the  soul,  if  made  the  slave  of  the  body, 
when  the  body,  its  master  and  idol,  has  been  con- 
verted into  dust  ?  What  becomes  in  death  of  the 
accomplishments  of  the  body,  the  artistic  language 
of  gesture,  the  sportive  wit  of  the  moment,  the 
capacity  for  over-reaching  and  seducing  others,  the 
power  of  flattery,  the  thousand  little  arts  of  vanity 
and  conceit  ?  They  perish  with  the  flesh.  But 
the  poor  neglected  spirit,  and  the  forgotten  eter- 
nity, —  they  endure  !  Fearful  as  it  may  be,  they 
endure ;  and  the  consequences  of  sin,  and  the 
account  to  be  rendered,  and  the  judgment,  and  the 
righteous  before  God,  —  they  endure. 

Lost  one  !  my  soul  is  moved  with  sorrow  at  thy 
lot.  Angels  may  well  weep  over  it ;  but  thou 
hadst  warning.  God,  nature,  reason,  the  events 
of  the  world,  joy,  misfortune,  men,  books,  —  all 
preached  it  to  thee,  all  recalled  to  thee  thy  higher 
destiny ;  all  warned  thee,  now  louder,  now  more 
gently,  now  in  threatening  tones,  now  in  imploring 
accents,  to  remember  the  one  thing  needful.  Lost 
one !  Thou  didst  smile  proudly,  and  thy  pride 
was  thy  god.  Thou  wert  ashamed  of  being 
good,  —  called  it  visionary  enthusiasm,  romance, 
folly,  to  ask  of  thee  to  be  truly,  humanly  noble,  by 
rising  above  thy  dearest  passions  !  Lost  one  !  thou 
hast  prepared  thine  own  destiny,  and  no  angel  will 
alter  the  eternal  laws  of  nature  or  of  the  world  of 
spirits.  God  is  just,  and  no  prayers,  no  sweat  of 
agony  on  thy  pale  forehead,  can  save  thee  ;  thy  life 


36  FEAR    OF  DEATH. 

lies  wasted  behind  thee,  thy  spirit  passes,  without 
a  hope  of  a  better  lot,  into  the  new  existence. 
Thou  hast  enjoyed  thy  goods,  and  thou  hast  thy 
reward. 

Yea,  most  assuredly,  a  dreadful  certainty  awaits 
him  who  in  this  life  has  lived  but  for  the  present, 
as  though  it  were  not  to  be  followed  by  a  hereafter ! 
But  equally  certain  is  that  which  awaits  the  right- 
eous man  who  has  quietly  pursued  the  path  of  duty 
and  virtue,  and  who  has  preferred  the  well-being, 
the  peace,  the  happiness  of  those  around  him,  to 
his  own. 

He  enjoys  certainty.  His  heart  tells  him,  thou 
shalt  not  die  entirely ;  eternal  love  watches  over 
thee.  Nature  tells  him  so,  when  through  her  won- 
ders he  beholds,  as  through  a  veil,  God  in  his 
majesty,  his  infinitude,  and  his  mercy.  His  relig- 
ion, as  revealed  by  Jesus,  teaches  it.  He  knows 
that  our  earthly  mansion,  our  frail  body,  will  be 
destroyed,  but  that  we  have  a  building,  built  by 
God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens.     (2  Cor.  v.  1.) 

What  are  the  terrors  of  death  to  a  noble  mind  ? 
A  play  of  the  imagination,  at  which,  not  the  soul, 
but  only  what  is  earthly  in  us,  trembles.  Has  not 
Jesus  Christ  conquered  for  us  the  terrors  of  death  ? 
Did  he  not  open  for  us  joyful  admission  to  the 
Father,  when  he  taught  us  to  be  perfect  as  our 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect  ? 

Though  the  body  may  shudder  when  about  to 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  37 

be  reduced  to  ashes  again,  and  it  ceases  to  be  an 
instrument  of  the  soul  that  until  then  had  animated 
it,  the  spirit  of  the  righteous  is  at  the  same  time 
seized  with  holy  transports  :  for  it  sees  throughout 
the  entire  universe  Life  only,  nowhere  death  ;  it 
sees  the  mutual  relations  of  all  things,  sees  no  link 
wanting  in  the  great  chain  of  beings  which  the 
almighty  hand  of  God  has  woven. 

Millions  before  me  have  fought  the  battle  and 
won  the  victory,  and  millions  will  do  so  after  me. 
Shall  I  alone,  then,  shrink  back  with  vain  and 
cowardly  fear  from  a  death  which  is  not  death  ? 
Najr,  let  us  depart  courageously  and  cheerfully  by 
faith,  if  not  yet  by  sight.  (2  Cor.  v.  7.)  These 
friends,  these  children,  these  loved  ones  to  whom 
my  heart  clings  so  tenderly,  whenT  part  from  them 
will  it  be  forever  ?  Nay,  it  is  but  separation  for 
the  length  of  a  summer  night.  Their  congenial 
souls  will  remain  true  to  mine.  The  kind  though 
mysterious  hand  of  Providence,  which  made  us 
find  each  other  in  the  gloom  of  this  life,  will  re- 
unite us  again  in  the  bright  daylight  of  eternal 
being.  God,  whom  the  eternal  Son,  whom  Jesus 
calls  Love,  Love  the  purest  and  the  highest,  will 
not  destroy  and  tear  asunder  that  love  which  he 
himself  created.  No,  the  All-holy  One,  in  whose 
likeness  we  may  grow  through  love  and  virtue, 
will  not  allow  love  and  virtue  to  fade  with  the 
dust,  from  which  they  do  not  spring. 

If,  then,  it  be  my  Father's  will  that  I  should 


38  FEAR    OF  DEATH. 

depart  hence  earlier  than  ye,  whom  he  confided  to 
my  care,  —  ye  beloved  ones,  whom  he  bestowed 
upon  me,  to  gladden  my  life,  —  my  last  look  will 
dwell  upon  you  with  tender  blessings,  while  eter- 
nity is  beckoning  me  away.  The  tears  of  sadness 
ye  weep  at  my  death-bed  shall  be  to  me  the  last 
test  of  your  faithful  love,  which  so  often  shed  hap- 
piness around  me,  and  which  can  never  die  !  Ye 
will  cease  to  weep  for  me,  but  not  to  love  me ; 
and  even  in  its  heavenly  abode,  even  amid  the 
pure  transports  it  may  there  enjoy,  my  soul  will 
continue  to  love  you,  —  that  sentiment  which  God 
implanted  in  it,  I  will  lay  again  before  his  throne. 
"  Weep  not,"  I  will  whisper  to  you  in  my  last 
hour ;  "  that  is  not  death  where  innocence,  virtue, 
and  holiness  live*.  Sin  only  is  the  death  of  the 
soul.  Flee  sin,  hold  fast  to  God,  act  divinely  in 
as  far  as  your  powers  will  allow,  and  we  shall 
belong  to  each  other  and  remain  united  there  as 
here." 

Yes,  henceforward  I  will  walk  more  steadily  in 
the  path  of  righteousness,  and  the  terrors  of  death 
will  vanish  before  the  consciousness  of  my  growth 
in  goodness,  as  mist  disappears  before  the  rays  of 
the  morning  sun.  How  cheerfully  have  not  num- 
bers of  noble  mortals  voluntarily  encountered  cer- 
tain death  for  truth  and  right,  for  their  country 
and  for  the  good  of  humanity  !  They  died  in  the 
good  cause  as  martyrs  to  their  own  nobility  of 
soul.     Ye,  exalted  minds,  ye  prized  sacred  objects 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  39 

higher  than  a  life  without  merit,  —  prized  the 
duties  of  the  spirit  higher  than  a  few  brief  hours 
or  years  spent  in  the  sensuous  enjoyments  of 
earth.  Ye  esteemed  death  in  the  cause  of  God  a 
gain  ;  it  was  to  you  but  as  a  change  of  garment, 
and  in  reality  was  but  this :  you  cast  off  the  per- 
ishable raiment,  to  clothe  yourselves  in  the  im- 
perishable. 

Ah,  enviable  fate,  to  breathe  out  the  spirit  in 
the  arms  of  God,  while  sacrificing  an  empty, 
worthless  life  in  the  fulfilment  of  duty !  Jesus ! 
such  was  thy  death,  the  death  that  redeemed  the 
world !  Ah !  could  such  be  the  death  of  all  thy 
followers,  could  mine  be  such !  May  it  be  my  lot 
to  give  up  my  spirit  in  the  midst  of  well-doing, 
and  while  surrounded  by  the  blessings  of  a  world 
rendered  happier  through  my  exertions  ! 

Finally,  what  attractions  has  this  earth  that 
should  make  parting  from  it  so  difficult?  The 
desire  of  the  righteous  is  to  be  forever  growing 
in  righteousness.  Can  the  opportunity  be  ac- 
corded here  below  for  this  continued  growth? 
No,  this  holy  craving  can  only  be  satisfied  after 
they  awake  in  the  higher  existence. 

And  the  joys  of  this  life,  —  though  I  am  far 
from  holding  them  lightly,  for  they  are  the  gifts 
of  God, — how  fleeting  are  they  not!  How  quick- 
ly do  we  not  tire  even  of  the  greatest  pleasures 
of  earth !  What  have  we  gained,  when  we  have 
obtained  all  that  we  have  lusted  for  ?     What,  but 


40  FEAR    OF  DEATH. 

the  constant  repetition  of  a  drop  of  honey  mixed 
with  a  drop  of  gall  ?  None  of  this  world's  pleas- 
ures is  quite  unalloyed. 

Thou  fearest  death,  O  feeble  mortal  ?  What 
then  wouldst  thou  gain  by  an  unusually  prolonged 
life  ?  Thou  wouldst  see  the  friends  of  thy  youth, 
thy  children,  all  thy  loved  ones,  descend  before  thee 
into  the  grave ;  thou  wouldst  find  thyself  at  last 
alone  in  the  world,  a  forlorn  stranger,  no  longer 
having  aught  in  common  with  it.  Thou  wouldst 
stretch  out  thine  arms  longingly  towards  those 
that  had  gone  before  thee,  and  thou  wouldst  weary 
of  the  empty  hours  of  thy  earthly  existence. 
Thy  protracted  life  would  become  to  thee  but  a 
painful  burden,  which  thou  wouldst  willingly  con- 
sign to  the  arms  of  death,  that  thou  mightest 
hasten  free  and  joyful  towards  the  beloved  spirits 
that  await  thee  yonder  where  no  sorrow,  no  part- 
ing, no  tear  is  known  ! 

Yes,  O  my  Saviour,  I  will  become  what  thou 
demandest  of  me,  —  a  true  child  of  God,  useful, 
loving,  delighting  in  well-doing,  without  hatred 
or  vanity  or  covetousness,  pure  as  thou  wert, 
divine  Friend  of  man !  Then  for  me  the  grave 
will  have  no  terrors ;  then  death  will  be  to  me 
only  the  easy  passing  from  dreaming  to  waking. 

And  when  I  shall  awaken  into  the  eternal, 
more  blissful  existence,  O  Jesus,  Revealer  of 
eternity !  0  God,  bountiful  Dispenser  of  the 
never-ending  bliss  of  our  spirits  !  what  holy  trans- 


FEAR    OF  DEATH.  41 

ports  fill  my  being  at  the  mere  thought  of  what 
I  shall  then  enjoy !  The  grave  is  my  cradle, 
death  is  my  awaking,  the  sunset  of  this  life  is  the 
sunrise  of  existence  in  the  regions  of  eternity ! 

Ah,  ye  dear  ones,  who  have  gone  before  me  ! 
ye  tenderly  beloved  ones,  whose  sacred  memory  I 
still  honor  here  on  earth  with  my  tears  :  how  my 
heart  yearns  for  you  !  —  And  I  shall  once  more 
be  with  you.  Though  more  perfect  than  I,  ye 
still  love  me  as  I  love  you.  It  is  love  that 
binds  together  the  spirits  of  distant  worlds,  that 
forms  the  link  between  heaven  and  earth  ;  there- 
fore its  flame  can  never  die  out  in  my  heart ! 
And  this  love  shall  sanctify  me,  this  hope  of  re- 
union shall  be  my  safeguard  against  all  tempta- 
tions to  sin.  Towards  you  are  directed  all  my 
wishes,  —  fain  would  I  again  blend  my  being  with 
yours.  Therefore  will  I  devote  my  whole  soul  to 
God  and  virtue,  that  through  God  I  may  find 
vou.  I  fear  death  no  longer  \  It  is  but  the  mes- 
senger  of  God,  sent  to  liberate  me,  to  lead  me  to 
you. 

Soon  !  0  soon !  shall  all  be  done,  — 

Peaceful  rest  I,  Lord,  in  thee  ; 
Thousands  have  the  victory  won,  — 

I,  too,  shall  win  the  victory. 
Louder  in  death  than  Nature's  voice, 
My  heart  outcries,  Have  faith  !  —  Rejoice ! 


GOD    IS    LOVE. 


Could  we  silence  every  tongue, 
Love  !  thy  praise  would  still  be  sung. 
Sun  and  moon,  and  stars  above, 
All  bear  witness,  God  is  Love. 
Silent  heights,  depths,  earth  and  heaven, 
Soul !  by  thee  is  witness  given. 

Labor's  impulse,  peaceful  hour, 

Joy  in  living,  come  from  thee. 
I  —  what  am  I  ?  whence  my  power  1 

Gave  a  foe  this  strength  to  me  1 
Say,  are  speech,  ear,  sight,  and  feeling 
Tokens  of  love,  or  hate's  revealing  1 

O,  I  feel  thee,  and  before  thee, 

Father  of  Love,  in  praise  I  fall ; 
For  that  I  am  I  will  adore  thee,  — 

Join  the  chorus,  creatures  all. 
Love  gave  me  life,  and  from  above 
Bestows  all  good,  because  't  is  Love. 

(1  St.  John  iv.  3.) 

^Ijff  OD  is  Love !  How  constantly  is  not 
tins  thought  —  the  most  comforting;  of 
all  to  an  anxious  human  heart  —  re- 
^  produced  in  the  prayers  and  writings 
of  Christians,  and  yet  how  few  quite  comprehend 
it !  and,  more  deplorable  still,  how  few  have  full 
and  unswerving  faith  in  this  blessed  truth  ! 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  43 

Heaven  and  earth  proclaim  it,  for  every  law  of 
nature  bears  witness  to  it ;  reason  also  bids  us  put 
faith  in  it,  —  the  revelations  of  Jesus  Christ 
preach  it,  —  and  yet  how  vague  and  uncertain 
is  the  belief  in  it  in  the  most  human  hearts  ! 

All  the  nations  of  antiquity  have  said  it :  God  is 
the  wisest  and  purest  Love.  The  most  enlight- 
ened as  well  as  the  least  civilized  peoples  of  the 
present  day  profess  it.  Yet  all  have  witnessed 
many  fearful  events  seemingly  in  contradiction 
with  this  faith.  They  have  seen  dreadful  wars 
that  have  struck  down  the  hopes  of  nations, — 
wars  which  have  been  permitted  by  God:  and 
they  have  been  terrified  at  the  thought  that  these 
evils  were  sent  by  the  God  of  Love.  They  have 
seen  floods  and  inundations  devastate  whole  coun- 
tries ;  they  have  seen  earthquakes  shake  the  earth 
to  its  very  foundations,  cities  and  villages  engulfed 
in  the  fiery  abyss,  and  millions  of  human  beings 
destroyed  in  a  moment.  They  have  seen  moun- 
tains give  way  and  bury  under  their  ruins  popu- 
lous regions  ;  they  have  seen  a  single  tempest 
sweep  every  ship  from  the  seas,  and  famine  and 
pestilence  convert  smiling  landscapes  into  deserts, 
—  and  with  doubting  hearts  they  have  asked,  Can 
all  this  havoc  be  the  work  of  a  loving  God  ? 

No !  cried  a  voice  in  their  bosoms  ;  and  yet  the 
dreadful  events  would  force  themselves  upon  their 
memory.  Hereupon  they  endeavored,  by  the 
light  of  their  immature  reason,  to  solve  the  ap- 


44  GOD  IS  LOVE. 

parent  contradictions  in  the  government  of  the 
world,  and  thus  they  came  to  believe,  not  only  in 
the  loving  Father  of  all,  but  also  in  an  evil  being, 
who  is  ever  contending  against  his  goodness. 
Their  childish  imaginations  created  two  deities 
of  almost  equal  might,  and  placed  both,  as  antago- 
nistic powers,  on  the  throne  of  the  universe. 
They  loved  the  Good  Deity,  and  brought  him 
thank-offerings ;  and  they  feared  the  evil  deity, 
or  the  Devil,  and  endeavored  to  allay  his  enmity 
by  prayers. 

In  this  manner  the  ignorant  heathens  interpret- 
ed the  origin  of  evil  in  the  world,  which  their 
weak  understandings,  and  their  imperfect  concep- 
tions of  the  greatness  of  God,  could  not  reconcile 
with  his  goodness.  In  consequence,  the  idea  of  a 
mighty  evil  spirit,  opposed  to  God,  was  introduced 
among  the  Jews  also,  when  they  dwelt  among  the 
heathen  during  the  Babylonian  captivity ;  and  this 
notion  of  a  Devil,  as  the  author  of  all  evil  in  the 
world,  was  again  transmitted  from  the  Jews  to  the 
Christians,  Jesus  and  his  Apostles  having,  when 
addressing  Jews,  made  use  of  figures  of  speech 
which  would  be  likely  to  be  understood  by  the 
people. 

This  ungenerous  notion,  so  incompatible  with 
the  omnipotence  and  omniscience  of  God,  is  per- 
haps hardly  worthy  of  a  refutation.  There  is  no 
God  but  God  !  He,  and  he  only  of  all  beings,  is 
the  Lord  of  the  living  and  the  dead.     He  alone 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  45 

rules  the  destinies  of  the  worlds,  as  those  of  the 
humblest  worm  in  the  dust. 

Thus  thinks  the  Christian.  But  unfortunately 
the  conceptions  which  a  great  number  of  Chris- 
tians form  of  the  all-loving  God  are  not  therefore 
more  exalted,  but  frequently  (hard  as  it  is  to 
believe)  even  less  pure  than  those  of  the  heathen. 
When  the  heathen  found  it  impossible  to  reconcile 
the  goodness  of  God  with  the  evils  of  life,  he  in- 
vented, as  a  means  of  explaining  the  contradiction, 
a  second  deity,  an  evil  being,  but  he  did  not  ac- 
cuse the  God  of  goodness  of  being  the  author  of 
evil,  and  did  not  attribute  to  him  low  human,  or 
rather  animal  passions.  Many  Christians,  on  the 
contrary,  who  as  such  believe  of  course  in  one 
God  only,  seeing  the  many  ills  that  afflict  human- 
ity, explain  these  by  conceiving  of  God  as  a 
God  of  vengeance,  as  an  angry  God,  a  jealous  and 
inexorable  God,  who  punishes  the  faults  of  a  mo- 
ment (for  is  man's  life  on  earth  more  than  a  brief 
moment  ?)  with  the  sufferings  of  eternity,  and 
who  takes  revenge  for  the  sins  of  the  fathers  on 
their  innocent  offspring,  —  actions  which,  if  com- 
mitted by  a  human  being,  would  rightly  be  con- 
sidered as  execrable  and  unjustifiable. 

These  ideas  of  the  Most  High  originated  at  a 
period  when  the  human  race  was  still  in  its  in- 
fancy, and  when  men  hardly  formed  a  higher  con- 
ception of  God  than  that  of  a  very  powerful  human 
being,  and  when  they  even  depicted  the  Deity  in 


46  GOD  IS  LOVE. 

human  form.  These  are  remnants  from  the  time 
when  Mpses  exhorted  the  Israelites,  and  when  he 
was  obliged  to  use  expressions  that  could  make  an 
impression  on  their  hard  hearts.  For  what  were 
the  children  of  Israel,  at  the  time  they  were  led 
out  of  Egypt  ?  Were  they  not  rude  and  ignorant, 
without  instruction,  without  education,  accustomed 
only  to  bondage  under  their  Egyptian  masters, 
obeying  only  when  they  felt  the  lash  over  them  ? 
Did  they  not  make  unto  themselves  idols  of  gold 
and  stone,  and  worship  these  as  they  had  seen  the 
Egyptians  worship  their  idols  ?  Did  they  not  even 
do  this  after  Moses  had  preached  to  them  that 
there  was  but  one  Almighty  God,  and  no  other 
God? 

To  be  able  to  guide  such  a  people  and  to  ac- 
custom them  to  strict  obedience  to  the  heavenly 
precepts,  Moses  was  obliged  to  address  them  in 
accordance  with  their  usual  modes  of  thought. 
Children  must  be  spoken  to  in  terms  different 
from  those  which  would  be  used  to  grown-up 
persons,  and  ignorant,  uncivilized  nations  cannot 
be  addressed  in  the  same  language  as  thinking, 
highly  cultivated  peoples. 

However,  even  after  the  Israelites  accepted  the 
laws  of  Moses,  and  faithfully  conformed  to  them, 
these  ruder  conceptions  of  God,  meant  only  for 
their  fathers,  when  they  came  out  of  the  Egyptian 
bondage  more  than  a  thousand  years  previously, 
continued  to  prevail  among  them.      And  as  the 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  47 

first  Christians  had  been  for  the  most  part  Jews, 
it  followed  as  a  matter  of  course  that  they  took 
their  conceptions  of  God  over  into  Christianity 
with  them.  And  thus  they  have  descended  from 
generation  to  generation,  even  unto  our  day,  and 
have  been  maintained,  partly  by  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  times  and  society,  partly  by  the  circum- 
scribed knowledge  of  many  teachers,  partly  by 
erroneous  interpretations,  and  applications  of  cer- 
tain passages  in  Holy  Writ. 

We,  however,  will  hold  fast  by  that  alone  which 
Jesus  Christ  taught  and  revealed.  And  he,  the 
Eternal  Son,  described  the  Father  as  the  purest 
Love,  in  whom  there  is  no  particle  of  evil,  —  as 
the  all-perfect  Being,  in  whom  consequently  no 
human  passion  or  weakness  can  dwell,  who  is  alike 
incapable  of  jealousy,  of  anger,  of  vengeance,  and 
of  repentance.  He  blames  the  outbreak  of  such 
passions  in  man,  —  how  then  could  he  find  them 
praiseworthy  in  the  highest  Being,  in  Him  who  is 
most  emphatically  Love  and  Goodness? 

But  how,  if  God  knows  neither  anger  nor  ven- 
geance, but  only  love,  how  has  evil  come  into  the 
world  ?  Who,  then,  is  the  author  of  all  the  mis- 
ery and  suffering  we  behold  on  earth  ?  Thus  asks 
the  doubting  Christian,  suffering  man,  who  knows 
not  how  to  account  for  the  existence  of  so  much 
woe.  If  God  is  the  Author  of  all  things,  is  he 
not  also  the  Author  of  evil  ?  And  how  am  I  to 
reconcile  this  with  his  wisdom  and  goodness,  nay, 
even  with  his  justice  ? 


48  GOD  IS  LOVE. 

What  can  I  answer  to  this,  poor  doubter,  other 
than  in  the  entire  universe  there  is  no  evil  but  sin  f 
And  sin  is  the  work  of  man,  springing  from  that 
freedom  with  which  God  has  endowed  him,  to 
will  and  to  do  right  or  wrong. 

Now,  as  in  the  Divine  creation  everything  is 
just  and  good,  all  that  is  wrong  and  unjust,  so  to 
say,  isolates  itself ;  and  when  man  wills  evil,  he  feels 
the  suffering  that  attends  this  dissociation.  This 
suffering,  however,  tends  to  reform  and  enlighten 
him,  so  that  he  may  no  longer  act  against  God's 
order  of  creation.  And  to  God's  ordinances  be- 
long, not  only  the  laws  of  nature  around  us,  but 
also  the  laws  within  us. 

We  are,  therefore,  ourselves  the  'principal  authors 
of  our  sufferings,  by  rushing,  in  our  blind  passions, 
headlong  against  the  eternal  and  unyielding  rules 
of  creation.  Thus  a  child  is  the  author  of  its  own 
pain,  when  from  ignorance  it  wounds  itself  with 
dangerous  weapons  ;  but  the  pain  is  the  beneficent 
teacher  of  prudence.  Again,  a  child  is  the  author 
of  its  own  suffering,  when  from  wilfulness,  disobe- 
dience, obstinacy,  or  thoughtlessness,  it  partakes  of 
things  that  are  injurious  to  its  health  ;  but  this  suf- 
fering is  the  beneficent  inculcator  of  forethought 
and  virtue. 

The  Divine  laws  that  rule  on  earth  are,  that  we 
should  grow  daily  in  wisdom,  in  knowledge,  in  vir- 
tue, and  in  godliness.  Pain  and  suffering  are  man's 
guides  to  perfection.     And  even  had  wisdom  and 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  49 

virtue  never  been  preached  to  men,  nature's  silent 
language  would  have  taught  it  to  them. 

It  is  true  there  are  many  evils  in  life  which  can- 
not be  said  to  be  the  consequences  of  our  acts. 
When  hail-storms  destroy  the  growing  corn,  when 
war  lays  waste  our  homes,  when  the  plague  devas- 
tates the  country,  when  floods  or  earthquakes  swal- 
low up  flourishing  cities  and  their  inhabitants,  — 
what  can  poor,  helpless  men  do  to  stay  the  powers 
of  nature  ?  how  can  they  struggle  against  the 
might  of  God  ?  And  yet  these  are  terrible  evils, 
—  and  yet  God  is  Love. 

Yea,  even  amid  the  most  fearful  and  destructive 
phenomena  of  nature,  let  it  be  proclaimed,  God  is 
Love. 

For,  after  all,  what  is  it  that  those  terrible  rev- 
olutions destroys  ?  The  earthly  form  of  man,  — 
not  his  real  self,  not  his  immortal  spirit.  And  can 
we  call  the  end  of  all  earthly  evils  an  evil  ?  And 
is  not  death  the  conclusion  of  the  earthly  and  the 
commencement  of  the  higher  existence  ?  Now, 
when  thousands  and  thousands  of  human  beings, 
fathers  with  their  children,  husbands  with  their 
wives,  die  at  the  same  moment,  struck  down  by 
some  natural  catastrophe,  in  accordance  with  the 
plans  of  Providence,  —  is  there  in  the  event  it- 
self any  very  great  difference  from  death  caused 
by  sickness  or  such  like  ?  Would  not  those  that 
perished  at  all  events  in  a  few  years  have  gone 
home  to  the  Eternal  Father?     If  death  is  not  an 

3  D 


50  GOD  IS  LOVE. 

evil,  then  neither  is  earthquake,  or  flood,  or  pesti- 
lence, or  any  natural  event  which  is  destructive  of 
human  life,  an  evil  to  those  who  are  thereby  re- 
moved from  this  earth.  It  is  only  to  the  survivors 
that  the  grand  spectacle  of  the  destruction  is  ter- 
rific. But  why  ?  Because  they  see  therein  a  proof 
of  the  weakness  of  mortal  man,  and  they  tremble  at 
the  thought  of  the  power  of  the  Most  High.  But 
does  this  give  us  reason  to  despair  of  God's  love  ? 
If  that  were  so,  then  every  case  of  death  would 
afford  similar  reason.  But  who  would  be  guilty 
of  the  folly  of  doubting  God's  love,  because  men 
draw  nigh  to  the  goal  of  their  destination  ? 

The  sufferings  endured  by  the  victims  of  the 
catastrophes  alluded  to  are  often  more  painful  than 
the  death  which  puts  an  end  to  them.  But  these 
bodily  pains,  which  are  founded  in  the  order  of  na- 
ture, afford  no  reason  for  attributing  to  the  Deity 
cruelty  or  a  love  of  vengeance.  Such  sufferings 
are  only  temporary,  and  when  bodily  pain  grows 
beyond  endurance  it  generally  terminates  in  a 
swoon,  and  the  patient  becomes  insensible.  God's 
beneficent  hand  has  thus  ordained  it ;  and  more 
than  this,  he  has  ordained  that  by  the  side  of  every 
mortal  affliction  there  shall  grow  compensatory  joy, 
which  the  sufferer  may  cull  if  he  chooses.  Life  on 
earth  is  but  a  many-colored  series  of  changes. 

But  the  physical  pains  which  we  endure  during 
our  earthly  career  are,  like  all  other  suffering, 
beneficent  teachers.     They  warn  us  not  to  forget 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  51 

how  fleeting,  how  mutable,  how  unreliable  is 
everything  that  belongs  to  earth,  and  is  born  of 
earth.  They  warn  us  not  to  attach  too  great 
value  to  these  things,  and  rather  to  occupy  our 
spirits  with  that  which  is  unchangeable,  eternal, 
and  divine.  He  who  does  this  can  never  be  quite 
stricken  down  either  by  poverty,  or  sickness,  or 
abandonment,  or  the  death  of  his  loved  ones,  or 
any  other  misfortune.  He  is  exalted  above  the 
fluctuations  of  earthly  happiness,  and  looks  towards 
eternity. 

There  are  other  Christians  who  think  that,  hav- 
ing conceived  of  God  as  an  infinitely  perfect 
Being,  they  must  not  attribute  to  him  any  human 
qualities,  not  even  the  most  sublime  and  lovable 
virtues  which  grace  humanity.  For,  they  say, 
that  which  is  the  most  exalted  in  man,  and  which 
presents  itself  to  the  human  mind  as  such,  may,  in 
the  Deity,  be  no  more  than  imperfection.  Thus 
they  maintain  that,  although  that  which  we  call 
love  may  be  the  highest  jewel,  the  paradise  of 
human  life,  we  can  nevertheless  not  conceive  of 
such  love  as  moves  us,  as  an  attribute  of  the  Deity ; 
for  we  stand  much  too  low  in  the  scale  of  beings 
to  be  able  to  comprehend  the  perfection  of  God. 

To  many  persons  this  mode  of  viewing  the  mat- 
ter may  seem  most  likely  to  be  the  true  one  ;  but 
if  I  ask  them,  Does  it  give  them  peace  and  happi- 
ness ?  they  must  answer,  No  ;  for  if  we  divest  God 
of  the  attribute  of  love,  we  stand  indeed  alone  in 


52  GOD  IS  LOVE. 

the  world,  with  no  one  to  turn  to  for  consolation, 
and  life  becomes  a  dark  and  insoluble  riddle. 
Those  who  think  thus  do  not  deny  God,  it  is  true ; 
but  they  deny  the  possibility  of  our  forming  a  just 
and  adequate  conception  of  him. 

Miserable  men !  you  confess  that  your  views 
fail  to  render  you  happy :  but  why  is  this  ?  Be- 
cause you  are  at  variance  with  yourselves  or  with 
your  own  reason.  Bring  your  reason  again  into 
harmony  with  yourselves  and  with  the  universe, 
and  you  will  reconquer  your  peace  of  mind. 

It  is  true  that  we  cannot  approach  even  to  a 
faint  conception  of  the  full  measure  of  God's  being. 
But  it  is  as  true  that  God  is,  as  that  you  are. 
And  this  once  admitted,  your  reason  cannot  but 
add,  that  he  is  the  most  perfect  of  all  perfect 
beings.  For  all  imperfection  is  the  reverse  of 
divine. 

It  is  undeniable  that  human  reason,  when  form- 
ing to  itself  a  conception  of  the  Highest  Being, 
must  divest  this  being  of  all  feelings  and  passions 
which  have  their  origin  in  earthly  nature,  —  such 
as  anger,  hatred,  rancor,  cruelty,  or  vengeance. 
For  how  can  we  form  to  ourselves  an  idea  of  him 
as  the  most  perfect  of  all  beings,  if  we  do  not 
attribute  to  him  the  highest  perfection  within  our 
power  of  conception  ?  Why,  therefore,  this  self- 
contradiction  ?  Why  this  hesitation  to  ascribe  to 
the  highest  Being  the  highest  perfection  ?  How 
do  we  gain  any  knowledge  of  God,  except  through 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  53 

the  great  works  of  his  creation  ?  Is  not  our 
reason  the  gift  of  God  ?  Is  it  not  through  this 
reason  that  he  has  revealed  himself  to  all  nations  ? 
Do  we  not  behold  before  us  his  works,  in  which 
he  has  given  us  a  standard,  though  an  infinitely 
small  one,  by  which  to  measure  his  greatness  ? 

If  you  refuse  to  conceive  God  as  a  perfect  Spirit, 
you  cannot  conceive  him  at  all.  Then  God  has 
made  your  reason  a  lie,  and  has  surrounded  you 
with  meaningless  phantasms.  If  you  conceive 
him  as  a  being  lifeless,  yet  wonderfully  animating 
and  setting  in  motion  the  whole  universe,  —  as  a 
powerful  machine  devoid  of  self-consciousness,  but 
which  causes  the  worlds  to  roll  in  their  meas- 
ureless orbits,  and  makes  the  sap  to  rise  in  the 
veins  of  the  most  insignificant  lichen,  according  to 
eternal  laws,  —  then  you  make  self-conscious  man 
more  perfect  and  more  divine  than  God ;  and 
reason,  truth,  and  revelation  you  reduce  to  empty 
sounds. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  you  conceive  God,  your 
God,  the  God  of  the  Universe,  not  as  a  lifeless 
being,  who  performs  his  wonderful  works  uncon- 
sciously (it  seems  madness  even  to  suppose  this), 
O,  then,  honor  in  him  the  sublimest  idea  which 
he  affords  you  of  himself.  You  fear  that,  sub- 
lime as  it  may  be,  it  is  unworthy  of  his  Majesty. 
Nay,  those  ideas  which  he  has  himself  enabled 
us  to  form  cannot  be  unworthy  of  him.  See, 
the  high  heavens,   star-spangled  with  innumerable 


54  GOD  IS  LOVE. 

worlds,  paint  an  image  of  themselves  on  the  retina 
of  your  eye ;  and  yet  how  small  is  your  eye  and 
how  immeasurable  are  those  distances,  how  illimit- 
able that  space,  which  the  most  highly  cultivated 
reason  suffices  not  to  calculate  or  to  fathom! 
Nevertheless  it  is  through  this  miniature  picture 
on  the  glossy  surface  of  your  eye  that  you  are 
alone  able  to  discern  them,  and  admire  them,  and 
thus  also  the  infinite  God  !  He  mirrors  his  per- 
fection and  his  greatness,  which  no  mind  can  com- 
pass or  fathom,  on  the  eye  of  the  mind. 

Love  for  what  is  great,  good,  beautiful,  holy, 
perfect,  prevails  throughout  the  spiritual  world ;  a 
loving  Wisdom  reveals  itself  in  all  the  wonders  of 
heaven  and  earth  ;  and  what  God  speaks  to  you 
through  the  evidences  of  his  power,  would  you 
deny  it  ?  You  dare  to  pronounce  man  sublime  in 
his  holy  love,  and  you  hesitate  to  declare  God  to 
be  the  purest  Love !  When  man  willingly  sacri- 
fices life  and  all  its  joys  for  love  of  God  and  virtue, 
how  exalted  does  he  not  appear  to  us !  And  yet 
you  can  doubt  that  God  is  Love !  Does,  then, 
man  bear  within  himself  something  more  divine 
than  God? 

Away  with  these  fallacies,  bred  of  human  soph- 
istry and  one-sided  science.  Thou,  O  God,  art 
Love  !  Not  in  vain  hast  thou  endowed  us  with 
this  sentiment  and  this  feeling,  which  links  soul  to 
soul,  the  living  to  the  dead,  and  is  but  a  ray  of  thy 
infinite  perfection,  which  mirrors  itself  faithfullv  in 


GOD  IS  LOVE.  55 

the  spirit  of  man.  Thou  art  love,  and  naught  but 
love !  Does  not  the  whole  creation  proclaim  it  ? 
Do  not  the  events  of  my  own  life  bear  witness  to 
it  ?  Does  not  Jesus  Christ,  the  Divine  Enlight- 
ener  of  man,  declare  it? 

Thou  art  Eternal  Love  !  Thou  wilt  never  dis- 
unite what  thou  hast  united  in  spirit ;  thou  wilt 
never,  O  Father,  separate  us,  thy  children,  from 
thyself.  Thou  didst  not  in  vain  send  Jesus  to  us, 
to  guide  us  to  thee.  Thou  wilt  never,  O  Father, 
dissever  the  loving  spirits  which  thou  hast  led 
together  here  on  earth.  As  they  belong  to  each 
other  here,  so  will  they  belong  to  each  other  here- 
after. They  will  be  reunited  in  thee,  thou  centre 
of  all  that  is  spiritual  and  of  all  that  is  blissful ! 

O  exquisite  thought !  O  inspiring  hope !  God 
is  Love,  and  whosoever  dwells  in  love  can  never 
feel  forsaken,  and  can  never  cease  to  exist ! 


THE    CONSOLATION    OF    THE    PA- 
TIENT  SUFFERER. 


Be  strong,  my  soul,  although  to-morrow 

Each  earthly  joy  were  from  thee  torn ; 
Have  courage,  though  the  bitterest  sorrow 

Should  leave  thee  comfortless  to  mourn. 
Upraise  thee,  groveller,  from  the  dust, 
In  soul  to  grasp  thy  God,  and  trust ; 

Be  worthy  of  the  glorious  lot 
Which  He  who  died  for  thee,  the  Son, 
Has  for  thee  from  the  Father  won. 

This  life 's  a  dream  that  lingereth  not. 

Striv'st  thou  with  zeal  to  bless  thy  kind, 

Still  on  thy  country's  good  intent, 
Were  the  whole  world  against  thee  joined, 

Ne'er  of  thy  righteous  zeal  repent. 
Let  neither  wile  nor  mock  of  sin 
Stifle  the  still,  small  voice  within, 
Nor  hinder  thee  from  deeds  of  love. 
Thy  heaven  is  in  the  realms  above. 

(2  Tim.  iv.  7,  8.) 

H  HE  most  virtuous  Christian  ought  al- 
ready here  on  earth  to  be  the  happiest, 
yet  this  is  not  always  the  case.  It  is 
4  true,  Religion  sheds  her  soothing  balm, 
her  heavenly  peace,  through  the  hearts  of  her  wor- 
shippers, so  that  even  in  the  deepest  depths  of 


THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER.  57 

their  miseries  they  cannot  be  utterly  wretched ; 
she  affords  them  an  anchor  in  the  wildest  tempest, 
a  star  to  guide  them  through  the  darkest  night. 
But  there  are  hours,  there  are  days,  when  even 
this  anchor  seems  to  give  way,  when  even  the 
light  of  this  star  seems  to  grow  dim.  There  are 
hours  and  days  when  even  the  consciousness  of 
our  uprightness,  the  sense  of  our  own  worth,  the 
remembrance  of  our  virtues,  far  from  soothing  our 
distress,  only  increase  it,  nay,  overwhelm  us  with 
an  excess  of  anguish.  In  such  an  hour  it  was  that 
Jesus,  bowed  down  in  the  dust,  shed  drops  of 
bloody  sweat,  and  cried,  "  O  my  Father,  if  it  be 
possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me !  "  In  such  an 
hour  it  was  that  he  stammered  with  dying  accents 
on  the  cross,  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  ?  " 

Sufferings  of  an  unusual  nature  may  indeed  at 
times  even  shake  our  faith.  When  we  find  that 
we  —  though  full  of  resignation  to  the  ways  of 
Providence,  of  unwavering  trust  in  the  eternal 
love  of  God,  of  affectionate  sympathy  for  the  weal 
and  woe  of  our  fellow-beings,  and  though  devoting 
ourselves  industriously  to  the  duties  of  our  office  — 
are  visited  by  misfortune  and  affliction,  while  bad 
men  bask  in  the  smiles  of  fortune,  revel  in  well- 
being,  rise  in  the  world,  though  totally  devoid  of 
merit,  and  know  no  sorrow  and  no  suffering, — 
ah,  how  pardonable  is  at  such  times  the  groan  of 
the  deeply  depressed  Christian :  "  Of  what  use  is 
3* 


58  THE    CONSOLATION  OF 

my  virtue,  of  what  avail  are  my  prayers  so  full  of 
heart-felt  devotion,  of  what  avail  my  endeavors  for 
the  good  of  others,  or  the  many  sacrifices  I  have 
so  frequently  made  to  principle  ?  See,  vice  is  ex- 
ultant ;  and  virtue  is  scorned.  The  railer  against 
God  triumphs  ;  fear  of  God,  innocence  of  mind, 
are  scoffed  at  as  folly  ;  and  the  worshipper  of  God 
weeps  lonely  in  the  dust.  No  one  approaches 
lovingly  the  poor,  deserted  sufferer  ;  even  God's 
mercy  seems  to  have  turned  away  from  him.  Is 
then  the  order  of  the  world,  such  as  God  created 
it,  antagonistic  to  all  that  is  called  religion  and 
piety  ?  Are  noble  hearts  predestined  to  suffer  ? 
Does  the  Ruler  of  the  universe  crown  only  un- 
scrupulousness,  base  crime,  and  cunning  shame- 
lessness  ?  —  Where  am  I  ?  Why  was  I  taught  by 
Jesus  to  treasure  a  pure  heart  as  above  all  price, 
when  this  heart  is,  more  than  any  other,  exposed 
to  every  grief?  " 

What  has  the  pious  Christian  done,  that  the 
thunder-cloud  of  war  should  burst  destructively 
over  his  cottage  ?  Perhaps  his  sons,  the  hopes  of 
his  life,  have  been  murdered,  his  daughters  dishon- 
ored, his  goods  destroyed,  his  means  of  subsistence 
taken  from  him.  As  a  helpless  beggar  he  must 
struggle  with  want  all  the  rest  of  his  days,  and 
totter  to  the  grave  without  a  friend  to  comfort  and 
sustain  him ;  while  worse  men  than  he  have  en- 
riched themselves  by  fraudulent  means,  and  pass 
through  life  honored,  loved,  and  flattered.     What 


THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER.  59 

has  the  child  been  guilty  of,  who  is  tortured  by 
sickness  which  it  has  not  brought  upon  itself,  and 
has  to  drag  on  through  a  blighted  life  with  an 
unhealthy  body  ?  He  grows  into  youth  and  man- 
hood,—  but  of  what  avail  are  his  ardent  prayers 
for  health  to  the  Hearer  of  all  prayer  ?  They  are 
not  answered.  Of  what  avail  is  his  pious  heart, 
his  keen  desire  to  be  useful  to  others  ?  He  lives 
and  dies  in  helpless  misery,  while  others  in  the 
enjoyment  of  blooming  health  seem  only  to  have 
received  the  fulness  of  strength  from  Heaven,  to 
enable  them  to  inflict  the  more  evils  on  the  world. 

Yes,  who  can  venture  to  deny  it?  There  are 
sufferings  in  the  world,  the  spectacle  of  which 
tempts  us  to  doubt  the  rule  of  an  all-just  Provi- 
dence, and  the  value  of  piety  and  virtue ;  when 
our  faith  and  trust  give  way,  and  unconquerable 
melancholy  takes  possession  of  the  soul. 

But  even  during  such  moments  of  despair  a 
friendly  voice  from  heaven  cries  to  our  heart  in 
the  words  of  Jesus :  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you 
rest."  The  only  fountain  of  consolation,  therefore, 
when  reason  fails  to  supply  such,  is  the  religion  of 
Jesus.  Whither,  indeed,  should  we  flee,  when  the 
world  deserts  us,  but  to  the  arms  of  God,  in  whose 
might  we  dwell  ? 

And  however  furiously  the  storms  of  life  may 
rage  around  us  ;  though  every  door  of  escape  may 
seem  closed  against  us  ;  though  -the  light  on  our 


60  THE   CONSOLATION  OF 

path  through  life  be  extinguished  ;  though  the  last 
friend  depart  from  us ;  though  our  grief  and  dis- 
tress may  have  reached  their  climax,  life  and  death 
be  struggling  for  mastery  within  us,  —  God  is  still 
our  God !  Whatever  happens  is  still  his  work, 
and  the  work  of  the  most  exalted  love.  That 
which  he  withholds  from  our  earthly  part  will 
form  the  strength  of  our  immortal  soul ;  that 
which  we  have  lost,  and  may  still  lose,  was  and 
is  only  transitory,  and  to  lose  it  we  must  all  be 
prepared ;  but  our  spirits  are  enriched  by  the 
bereavement,  are  brought  closer  to  God  thereby. 

Therefore,  courage,  unswerving  principle,  and 
faith,  even  in  the  hour  of  bitterest  trial !  He  will 
not  abandon  thee,  He  will  not  forsake  thee,  though 
all  earthly  blessings  fail  thee,  if  thou  do  not  for- 
sake him  !  Who  has  ever  promised  thee  that  the 
things  of  this  world  should  be  other  than  fleeting  ? 
Who  has  ever  promised  that  thy  sweet  dreams 
should  prove  eternal  ?  And  even  if,  like  Job, 
thou  hast  been  deprived  of  thy  best,  thy  all,  what 
is  it  that  thou  hast  lost  ?  —  Mere  dust  and  ashes  ! 
"  The  Lord  giveth,  and  the  Lord  taketh  away !  " 

If  thou  keepest  up  thy  courage  and  thy  faith, 
thou  hast  lost  nothing  ;  for  God  is  all  in  all,  and 
all  else  is  naught.  And  God  will  be  near  to  thee, 
for  thou  art  his  creature;  thou  art  an  object  of 
his  care,  of  his  love  !  God  remains  near  thee, 
even  when  the  world  to  thy  dimmed  eye  is 
shrouded   in  darkness,    and    the  wings    of   death 


THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER.  61 

are  waving  above  thee,  —  for  the  goal  of  thy  spirit 
is  eternity. 

Blessed  wilt  thou  be  if,  at  the  end  of  thy  life's 
journey,  thou  canst  say,  with  proud  consciousness 
of  how  thou  hast  passed  through  every  trial :  "I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my 
course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  !  " 

It  is  an  error  to  believe  that  virtue  can  be 
rewarded  with  earthly  goods,  with  riches,  honors, 
health,  and  all  kinds  of  human  enjoyments.  No, 
the  spirit  cannot  be  rewarded  with  what  belongs 
to  the  flesh ;  its  rewards  must  be  spiritual.  The 
spirit's  nature  is  immortal ;  its  joys  must  be  im- 
mortal like  itself.  Only  in  as  far  as  we  are 
human,  that  is  to  say,  sensuous  beings,  do  we 
seek  for  sensuous  pleasures.  These,  however,  fall 
to  our  lot,  or  are  withdrawn  from  us,  quite  inde- 
pendently of  our  virtue  and  piety.  They  are  the 
results,  partly  of  our  prudence  and  judgment, 
partly  of  our  honest  industry,  partly  of  the  confi- 
dence with  which  we  have  known  how  to  inspire 
others.  They  are  partly,  or  indeed  entirely,  the 
consequences  of  the  wise  ordinances  of  the  Ruler 
of  the  world,  according  as  he  finds  one  or  another 
auxiliary  means  better  adapted  to  the  qualities  of 
our  souls. 

It  is  therefore  erroneous  to  conclude,  that  be- 
cause a  man  is  visited  by  corporeal  privations,  and 
suffers  from  the  loss  of  earthly  goods,  that  this  is  a 
punishment  of  God.     It  is  likewise  a  mistake  to 


62  THE   CONSOLATION  OF 

look  upon  wealth,  honors,  and  other  gifts  of  for- 
tune as  rewards  bestowed  by  God.  The  noblest, 
most  faithful  Christian  is  often  subject  to  the 
greatest  privations.  The  most  audacious  rogue, 
who  mocks  at  religion,  often  accumulates  the 
largest  fortune.  A  more  glorious  recompense 
awaits  the  righteous  ;  a  more  terrible  punishment 
than  mere  bodily  privations  awaits  the  sinner. 

It  is  true  that  parents  encourage  their  children 
in  obedience  by  bestowing  earthly  rewards  on 
them  ;  it  is  true  that  princes  requite  the  merits  of 
their  subjects  with  riches  and  honors,  —  not  that 
virtue  can  be  paid  for  in  so  much  money,  but 
because  princes,  not  being  divinities,  cannot  requite 
services,  cannot  testify  their  esteem,  except  through 
the  bestowal  of  earthly  tokens. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  sufferings  to  which  as 
mortals  we  are  subject  are  either  self-imposed,  — 
in  which  case,  they  are  painful  consequences  of 
the  abuse  which  we  have  made  of  the  gifts  and 
capabilities  with  which  God  has  endowed  us,  of 
transgressions  against  his  rules,  and  thus  thev  are 
indeed  punishments  inflicted  by  sin  upon  itself,  — ■ 
or  they  fall  upon  us  without  any  fault  of  our  own ; 
and  in  this  case,  it  is  God's  will  that  they  should 
be  to  us  what  the  gifts  of  fortune  may  be  to 
others,  —  means  for  ennobling  and  perfecting  our 
souls.  And  thus  all  Suffering  at  length  conduces 
to  the  triumph  of  the  victorious  spirit,  and  opens 
to  it  a  more  glorious  career  in  eternity.     God  is 


THE   PATIENT  SUFFERER.  63 

just !  Throughout  the  creation  there  is  nothing 
wrong  or  unjust.  Everything  leads  upward  to 
a  glorious  end.  God  the  rewarder  lives !  And 
what,  after  all,  are  the  sufferings  of  this  earth 
when  compared  to  the  glory  to  which  they  con- 
secrate us,  by  endowing  our  souls  with  higher 
strength,  power,  and  dignity  ? 

Besides,  the  wisdom  of  the  Most  High  has  so 
ordained  it,  that  no  pains  connected  with  earth  can 
endure  forever.  Only  he  who  suffers  damage  in 
his  soul,  who  fails  to  improve  his  spirit,  —  only  he 
loses  eternally  ;  because  he  neglects  that  which  is 
eternal.  Habit  deprives  even  the  most  appalling 
evils  of  their  terrors,  and  makes  the  heaviest  bur- 
dens lighter.  No  suffering  endures  for  very  long. 
For  every  wound,  however  painfully  it  bleeds, 
time  has  a  soothing  balm.  Night  {$  ever  followed 
by  morning,  storm  by  calm.  We  are  dwelling  in 
the  realm  of  the  transitory  ;  and  as  no  joy  endures 
forever,  so  also  sorrow,  want,  and  anxiety  are  but 
fleeting  clouds  in  our  sky. 

Sustain  thy  courage,  persevere  in  well-doing, 
keep  thy  faith  and  trust  in  God,  and  thou  wilt 
come  triumphant  out  of  the  struggle,  thy  brows 
encircled  by  the  crown  of  glory,  which  God,  the 
Rewarder,  bestoweth. 

Thou  art  pining  in  helpless  poverty,  and  can 
see  no  end  to  thy  tribulations.  Thou  hast  labored 
honestly  and  industriously,  and  yet  hast  laid  by 
no   store,  and  each  succeeding  day  makes  thee 


64  THE   CONSOLATION   OF 

tremble  more  and  more  for  the  future.  Though 
faithful  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  thy  vo- 
cation, though  trustful  in  thy  prayers  to  the  Giver 
of  all  good  gifts,  thou  nevertheless  sinkest  deeper 
and  deeper  into  poverty  and  misery.  Instead  of 
diminishing,  thy  difficulties  increase  every  day 
with  fearful  rapidity ;  thou  seest  no  means  of  res- 
cue. Before  thy  family  lies  a  future  full  of  pain 
and  privation, — before  thyself  a  life  robbed  of 
honor  and  happiness.  Yet  man  thyself,  O  un- 
happy mortal !  and  though  all  forsake  thee,  for- 
sake not  thou  the  path  of  virtue.  Though  every 
hope  break  faithlessly  away  from  thee,  do  not 
loose  thy  hold  on  God !  Save  the  innocence  of 
thy  soul,  and  thou  wilt  have  saved  everything. 
Many  have  been  more  deeply  involved  even  than 
thou,  and  yet  have  been  wonderfully  rescued  by 
Providence.  Fight  a  good  fight,  and  keep  thy 
faith.  Even  when  all  have  forsaken  thee,  God 
is  still  thy  God. 

And  thou,  who  never  sparedst  labor  or  pains 
when  thou  couldst  promote  the  well-being  of  thy 
fellow-citizens ;  who  didst  sacrifice  the  best  years 
of  thy  life,  fortune,  time,  and  rest  to  the  welfare 
of  others,  —  why  dost  thou  chafe  at  the  heartless 
ingratitude  of  men  ?  They  requite  thy  love  with 
shameless  calumny,  thy  noble-mindedness  with 
baseness,  thy  sacrifices  with  scorn,  thy  fidelity 
with  contempt  and  desertion.  Malice  triumphs, 
prejudice  prevails,  thou  succumbest.     Yet  be  of 


THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER.  65 

good  heart,  fight  trustfully  the  good  fight  to  the 
end.  There  is  One  who  does  not  misjudge  thee  ; 
there  is  One  who  will  deal  justly  by  thee.  He 
is  the  Omniscient,  the  Rewarder !  Did  Jesus 
do  less  than  thee  ?  Did  the  world  reward  him 
better  ? 

Thou  who  art  stricken  down  in  the  prime  of 
thy  strength  by  painful  illness,  that  deprives  thee 
of  all  enjoyment  and  all  hope  in  life,  —  despair 
not !  As  regards  thy  earthly  prosperity,  those 
hours  are  indeed  lost  which  thou  sighest  away  on 
thy  bed  of  pain ;  but  to  thy  soul  they  are  not 
lost.  In  these  bitter  moments  of  agony  thou  art 
securing  higher  gain.  Thou  who  once  stood 
there  so  proudly  in  the  fulness  of  thy  health  and 
strength,  who  wert  so  rich  in  plans  for  the  future, 
—  thou  acknowledgest  now  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling the  hand  of  a  Mighty  One  above  thee, 
which  rules  the  fate  of  worlds,  and  of  the  mean- 
est creature.  It  is  his  will  that  has  fixed  thy 
destiny.  It  is  true  thy  wealth  will  suffer,  now 
that  thy  arm  fails  that  kept  it  up ;  it  is  true  thy 
children,  almost  uncared  for,  move  like  orphans 
round  thy  bed,  casting  sad  and  anxious  glances 
at  thee ;  it  is  true  deep  sorrow  gnaws  at  the  heart 
of  thy  loving  spouse,  though  she  endeavors  to 
hide  it  from  thee,  — yet  do  not  despair  !  A  strong 
arm  upholds  thee,  —  the  arm  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence. And  should  even  thy  illness  become  still 
more  painful,  thy  fortune  still  more  impaired,  thy 


QQ  THE   CONSOLATION  OF 

prospects  still  more  hopeless,  God  is  still  thy  God ! 
Fight  the  good  fight  in  thy  hours  of  suffering, 
and  keep  thy  faith.  Not  as  thou  seest  it,  but  as 
God  ordaineth  it,  will  be  the  fate  of  thy  children. 
And  shouldst  thou  be  doomed  to  part  from  thy 
loved  ones,  should  the  tears  in  the  eyes  of  thy 
dear  relatives  be  the  first  tears  of  the  last  parting, 
—  then  blessed  art  thou !  The  Father  of  all  is 
calling  thee  a  few  moments  earlier  into  the  better 
world.  We  shall  follow  thee  in  a  few  brief  hours, 
after  another  short  dream.  Why  sorrowest  thou 
with  faithless  anxiety  for  those  who  will  linger 
on  earth  but  a  short  time  after  thee  ?  Who  cared 
for  thee,  when  no  mortal  watched  over  thee  ?  Is 
thy  God  not  also  the  God  of  thy  dear  ones  ? 

And  thou  who  with  loving  heart  hast  attached 
thyself,  as  thou  thoughtest,  to  a  congenial  mind, 
and  sought  the  happiness  of  life  in  this  friendship 
only,  —  why  art  thou  so  downcast  ?  Because  that 
heart  deceived  thee?  Because  those  lips  only 
feigned  the  love  which  thou  gavest  with  all  thy 
soul  ?  Because  those  eyes  falsely  smiled  on  thee  ? 
Because  thy  faith  was  responded  to  with  base 
perjury,  and  thy  tenderness  requited  with  shame- 
less treachery?  Unhappy  mourner,  thou  hast 
indeed  lost  much  ;  thy  experience  has  perhaps 
forever  embittered  thy  gentle  heart,  and  robbed 
thee  of  thy  faith  in  mankind.  The  treachery 
thou  hast  met  with  has  perhaps  rilled  thy  heart 
forever  with   disbelief  in  human  virtue.     Thou 


THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER.  67 

hast  no  longer  a  friend  in  whom  thou  canst  trust, 
to  whom  thou  canst  devote  thyself.  Thou  stand- 
est  alone  in  the  world ;  and  without  friendship  life 
has  no  attractions  for  thy  delicately  moulded  soul. 
Nevertheless,  bear  up  manfully.  Thou,  also,  pre- 
pare to  fight  the  good  fight  of  the  Christian ;  be 
generous-minded  to  the  last !  God  is  faithful, 
though  none  else  be  so  !  If  the  whole  world 
deceive  thee,  there  is  One  who  never  deceiveth. 
He  is  thy  God,  the  God  of  truth  and  love,  the 
God  who  endowed  thy  soul  with  its  tender  yearn- 
ings. Even  shouldst  thou  be  doomed  to  pass 
through  life  without  an  earthly  friend,  One 
Friend  remaineth  to  thee,  —  the  Eternal  Father, 
thy  Creator !  If  those  who  are  dearest  to  thee 
abandon  thee,  let  this  play  of  shadows,  this  con- 
stant shifting  of  the  sublunary  scene,  strengthen 
thy  spirit  in  self-dependence,  and  lead  thee  closer 
to  what  is  eternally  true  and  lasting,  —  to  God. 

Wherefore  weepest  thou,  sorrowing  widow,  by 
the  coffin  of  thy  husband  ?  And  thou,  faithful 
child,  on  the  grave  of  thy  father,  thy  friend  ? 
And  thou,  disconsolate  mother,  by  the  bier  of  thy 
infant  ?  What  is  it  that  they  bear  to  the  grave  ? 
Is  it  not  merely  the  mortal  coil  ?  Or  can  spirits 
die  and  moulder  away  in  the  ground  ?  Why 
fixest  thou  thine  eyes,  sore  with  weeping,  on  the 
earth  ?  Ah !  that  which  hath  fled  from  thee,  that 
which  thy  eye  seeketh,  is  not  there  !  Lift  thine 
eyes  to  Heaven,  let  them  penetrate  the  boundless 


68  THE   CONSOLATION  OF 

universe  !  Thy  friend  is  there.  The  mysterious 
power  which  animated  the  dust,  and  which  we 
call  soul,  the  same  that  so  often  smiled  lovingly 
on  thee  through  tender  eyes,  that  spoke  to  thee 
from  friendly  lips,  now  with  solemn  earnestness, 
now  with  joyful  mirth,  —  it  has  gone  to  God,  is 
with  God,  has  entered  into  more  glorious  con- 
nections, into  higher  spheres  of  action,  is  more 
elevated,  freer,  happier,  more  perfect  than  thou ! 
Why,  then,  turn  thine  eyes  upon  the  grave  ?  the 
ashes  that  lie  buried  there  were  only  a  borrowed 
raiment,  did  not  belong  to  the  immortal  being,  — 
were  but  an  instrument  useful  for  a  short  time 
here  below,  now  no  longer  needed.  The  soul 
has  finished  its  course  in  this  world,  has  fought 
the  fight,  and  kept  its  faith.  Henceforth  it  wears 
the  crown  of  immortality !  Man  thyself,  O 
mourner,  and  thou,  also,  prepare  to  fight  the  good 
fight.  The  loved  one  whom  thou  hast  lost  will 
one  day  advance  to  meet  thee  at  the  gate  of 
eternity,  to  greet  thee  as  a  glorified  companion, 
and  will  cry  unto  thee  :  Here,  also,  God  is  thy 
God! 

O  God !  O  Father !  thou  art  also  my  God, 
my  Father ;  why,  then,  should  I  be  bowed  down 
with  grief?  Why  weakly  yield  myself  up  before 
my  course  is  finished,  before  I  have  fought  the 
good  fight  to  the  end  ?  O  give  me  strength, 
give  me  power !  whatever  suffering  thou  mayst 
impose,  I  will  bear  it,  for  it  will  bring  me  nearer 
to  thee  ! 


THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER.  69 

Father,  for  each  earthly  pleasure 

Heart-felt  thanks  from  me  receive,  — 
Thanks,  should  grief  o'erflow  the  measure, 

Father,  still  to  thee  I  give. 
Shouldst  thou  take  them  both  from  me, 
Yet  more  gladly  praise  I  thee. 

In  the  sweet  and  smiling  spring, 

When  true  friends  around  me  stand, 
Though  each  hour  new  joys  may  bring, 

Hopes  fulfilled  as  soon  as  planned,— 
Yet  I  sadly  seem  to  see 
All  earth's  joys  are  vanity. 

What  to  Earth  and  Time,  though  bright, 

Is  the  joy  that  can  enchain  ? 
No,  my  spirit  strives  with  might 

Immortality  to  gain. 
Only  one  pure  joy  I  see,  — 
Holy,  and  in  God  to  be. 

Soon,  0  soon !  shall  all  be  done, 

Peaceful  rest  I,  Lord,  in  thee ; 
Thousands  have  the  victory  won, 

I,  too,  shall  win  the  victory. 
More  loudly  yet  than  thunder's  voice, 
My  heart  outcries,  believe,  —rejoice  ! 

Yes,  I  believe,  till  life  shall  close, 

The  God  I  trust  will  ne'er  forsake. 
On  him,  in  hope,  will  I  repose, 

Although  the  last  fond  tie  should  break. 
Can  I  but  hold  him  for  my  own, 
Then  shall  I  never  stand  alone. 

Look,  Lord,  with  pity  on  my  tears, 
Behold  my  cares,  —my  fallen  state  ; 


70  THE  PATIENT  SUFFERER. 

Comforter,  come,  relieve  my  fears. 

O,  I  am  left  so  desolate ! 
Sustain  me,  Helper  ;  ease  my  smart ; 
Send  joy  and  peace  into  my  heart. 

And  yet,  0  Father,  not  my  will, 
But  thine  alone,  be  done  on  me. 

Though,  like  the  patient  Jesus,  still 
I  wander  through  Gethsemane, 

At  last,  my  God,  when  all  is  done, 

The  glorious  guerdon  shall  be  won. 


THE    SICK. 


In  silence  will  I  bear  the  pain 

Which  God  has  sent  me  by  his  will,  — 

Ne'er  will  I  murmur  nor  complain  ; 

Although  he  wound,  he  loves  me  still,  — 

In  sickness  not  the  less  God's  child 

Than  if  the  world  around  me  smiled. 

True  to  himself,  God  changes  never,  — 

Wise,  mighty,  merciful,  forever. 

(St.  Matt.  xxv.  36.) 

MONG  the  manifold  misfortunes  that 
may  befall  humanity,  the  loss  of 
health  is  one  of  the  severest.  All 
the  joys  that  life  can  give  cannot 
outweigh  the  sufferings  of  the  sick.  Give  the 
sick  man  everything,  and  leave  him  his  sufferings, 
and  he  will  feel  that  half  the  world  is  lost  to  him. 
Lay  him  on  a  soft,  silken  couch,  he  will  never- 
theless groan  sleepless  under  the  pressure  of  his 
sufferings ;  while  the  miserable  beggar,  blessed 
with  health,  sleeps  sweetly  on  the  hard  ground. 
Spread  his  tables  with  dainty  meats  and  choice 
drinks,  and  he  will  thrust  back  the  hand  that 
proffers  them,  and  envy  the  poor  man  who 
thoroughly  enjoys  his  dry  crust.     Surround  him 


72  THE  SICK. 

with  the  pomp  of  kings  ;  let  his  chair  be  a  throne, 
and  Ins  crutch  a  world-swaying  sceptre  ;  he  will 
look  with  contemptuous  eye  on  marble,  on  gold, 
and  on  purple,  and  would  deem  himself  happy 
could  he  enjoy,  even  were  it  under  a  thatched 
roof,  the  health  of  the  meanest  of  his  servants. 

Hence  the  sight  of  a  sick  person  is  painful  to 
all.  Who  can  behold  without  pity  and  emotion 
the  wan  cheek,  the  dimmed  eye,  and  the  ema- 
ciated form  ?  Even  the  rude  warrior  checks 
his  ruthless  passion  at  this  sight,  and  spares  the 
sufferer. 

A  sick  person  is  a  sacred  object  to  every  Chris- 
tian, and  ought  to  be  so.  Even  levity  grows 
earnest  at  the  side  of  the  sick-bed. 

Perhaps  thou  wert  once  thyself  such  a  pitiable 
object ;  if  so,  remember  the  days  of  thy  suffer- 
ing. Thou  didst  then  gain  great  and  weighty 
experiences.  Come  with  me  in  spirit  now  to  the 
bedside  of  a  languishing  fellow-being,  and  renew 
there  the  thoughts  and  resolves  of  those  days. 

But  if  thou  hast  not  yet  learnt  what  it  is  to  lose 
health,  the  day  may  come  when  thou  shalt  make 
that  sad  experience.  Prepare  thyself  like  a  sage 
against  that  time  of  trial.  Learn  to  love  the  sick 
and  to  nurse  them  with  tender  care,  that  thou, 
like  them,  mayst  one  day  be  thus  honored  and 
tended. 

Disease  is  not  necessarily  connected  with  life. 
Originally  man  was  made  perfect  in  all  his  parts. 


THE  SICK.  73 

Thousands  go  through  life  without  ever  having 
experienced  any  derangement  of  their  physical 
organization.  To  them  even  approaching  death 
brings  no  illness.  They  die  because  the  last  drop 
of  life's  oil  in  their  lamp  has  been  consumed ;  they 
sleep  away  in  sweet  weariness,  like  the  reaper  in 
autumn  when  his  daily  task  is  completed. 

If  we  have  not  inherited  the  germs  of  disease 
from  our  parents,  it  is  generally  to  our  own  im- 
prudence or  thoughtlessness  that  may  be  attrib- 
uted the  loss  of  life's  best  gift,  —  the  health  of 
our  bodies,  —  the  partial  destruction  of  the  instru- 
ment through  which  our  souls  are  to  work  and 
do  useful  service. 

In  every  case,  observe  the  nature  of  thy  body, 
and  regulate  thy  life  accordingly.  Observe  its^ 
laws  in  thy  nourishment,  thy  drink,  thy  pleasures, 
and  thy  mode  of  working  in  thy  vocation.  Nev- 
er forget  that  one  single  hour  of  intemperance 
may  be  the  parent  of  long  years  of  suffering. 
Never  forget  that  one  moment  of  guilty  self-for- 
getfulness  in  the  midst  of  joy,  suffices  to  poison 
thy  cup  of  bliss. 

Man's  body  is  not  his  inalienable  possession ;  it 
is  a  loan  from  the  hand  of  God,  which  we  shall 
one  day  have  to  give  up,  —  an  instrument  of  the 
spirit,  without  which  the  latter  cannot  fulfil  its 
appointed  work  on  earth.  If  man  deserve  pun- 
ishment for  sin,  then  assuredly  he  deserves  it 
when  he  sins  against  his  own  body ;  for  he  there- 

4 


74  THE  SICK. 

by  robs  himself  of  the  joy  of  life,  and  of  the 
capacity,  for  a  long  time,  and  perhaps  forever,  of 
doing  as  much  good  as  he  might  otherwise  do. 

Not  only  do  we,  by  carelessness  of  our  health, 
render  ourselves  incapable  of  fulfilling  adequately 
our  duties  to  God,  our  country,  and  our  fellow- 
citizens,  to  strangers,  and  to  friends ;  but  we  may 
even,  though  subsequently  apparently  restored  to 
health,  in  reality  have  hastened  the  approach  of 
the  hour  of  death.  The  man  wanting  in  moder- 
ation—  whether  it  be,  that  with  careless  pre- 
sumption he  expose  himself  unnecessarily  to 
danger,  or  that  by  exaggerated  care  he  render 
himself  over-delicate  —  may  be  said  to  be  a  self- 
murderer,  though  against  his  will  and  desire. 

Again,  the  germs  of  disease  are  often  trans- 
mitted from  parents  to  children :  the  maladies 
of  one  generation  thus  become  the  ailments  and 
sufferings  of  a  distant  posterity.  Therefore  guard 
reverently  the  health  of  your  bodies,  that  your 
children  may  not  one  day  upbraid  you  with  their 
diseases ;  that  the  follies  of  one  brief  moment  of 
your  existence  may  not  become  a  source  of  mis- 
ery to  your  children's  children !  It  is  this  that 
the  Scriptures  allude  to,  when  they  say,  the  sins 
of  parents  are  punished  unto  the  third  and  fourth 
generation. 

Often  place  yourself,  in  spirit,  by  the  bedside 
of  the  sick.  It  may  be  to  you  a  school  of  wis- 
dom.    When  the  sunken  eye  and  deathly  pallor 


THE  SICK.  75 

of  the  poor  sufferer  make  you  tremble,  the  re- 
solve will  he  strengthened  in  you  to  avoid  every- 
thing that  may  injure  your  own  health. 

But  watch  not  only  over  thyself;  watch  also 
over  the  health  of  thy  companions.  Tempt  not 
others  to  immoderate  pleasures ;  lead  them  not 
into  dissipation  that  may  breed  disease.  What 
satisfaction  will  it  be  to  thee,  when  thou  hast 
robbed  them  of  the  sweet  bloom  of  health,  when 
thou  hast  become,  as  it  were,  the  destroyer  of 
their  best  joy  in  life  ? 

Nevertheless,  this  is  a  point  in  regard  to  which 
even  good  people,  without  malice  and  without 
premeditation,  but  in  the  tumult  of  pleasure,  so 
frequently  err.  Their  example  and  their  en- 
couragement excite  weaker  persons  to  indulge 
in  undue  gratifications.  In  the  very  endeavor 
to  give  their  friend  a  proof  of  affection,  they 
frequently  become  his  poisoner,  his  destroyer. 
Neither  the  malice  nor  the  cruelty  of  man  is  so 
dangerous  as  his  thoughtless  levity. 

Honor,  O  Christian,  in  thyself  as  in  others,  the 
sanctity  of  health !  Perform  towards  the  sick 
the  holy  duty  of  benevolence  ! 

Be  a  friend  to  the  sick,  as  was  Jesus,  that  sub- 
lime example  of  what  we  ought  and  what  we 
ought  not  to  be.  Did  he  not  go,  with  helping 
hand,  to  the  bedside  of  the  sick  ?  Was  it  not  he 
who  lovingly  called  unto  him  the  lame  and  the 
blind,  the  leper  and  the  man  sick  of  the  palsy  ? 


76  THE  SICK. 

Was  he  not  the  refuge  of  all  sufferers?  Did 
they  not  let  themselves  be  carried  unto  him, 
when  they  learnt  that  the  Divine  Friend  of  suf- 
fering humanity  was  nigh?  Thou,  who  callest 
thyself  Christian,  be  a  Christian  in  truth,  —  fol- 
lower of  Jesus,  be  what  Jesus  was  ! 

It  is  time,  thy  hand  can  perform  no  miracle  ; 
but  it  can  perform  acts  of  kindness  !  Thy  arm 
cannot  raise  up  the  hopelessly  sick,  and  place  him 
again  in  the  blooming  realm  of  health,  nor  can  it 
stay  death  ;  but  it  can  lovingly  support  the  weak. 
At  thy  bidding,  it  is  true,  all  pains  will  not  van- 
ish ;  but  thy  words  may  comfort,  may  give  coun- 
sel and  cheerfulness  to  one  whom  every  earthly 
joy  fails  because  he  lacks  health. 

"  I  have  been  sick,  and  ye  have  not  visited 
me  !  "  will  be  the  words  of  Jesus  to  those  who 
have  uncharitably  left  the  sick  without  tender 
care. 

Help,  more  especially,  the  poor  sick  stranger ! 
Those  that  are  at  home  will  be  tended  by  their 
sorrowing  relatives.  The  rich  will  not  lack  nurs- 
ing,  for  every  one  will  be  willing  to  minister  to 
them,  and  they  have  the  means  of  procuring  for 
themselves  all  that  they  require,  and  everything 
that  may  tend  to  soothe  their  sufferings.  But 
who  is  there  to  minister  to  the  poor?  Perhaps 
not  even  an  unfeeling;  hireling.  Who  is  there  to 
take  care  of  the  suffering  stranger  ?  Ah,  perhaps, 
no  one,  while  his  brothers  and  sisters  are  grieving 
over  him  at  a  distance. 


THE   SICK.  77 

You  often  long  to  be  able  to  do  some  good. 
You  think,  perhaps,  that  when  you  have  chari- 
tably given  alms  to  the  beggar  in  the  street,  you 
have  done  enough.  But  how  little  is  this  !  God 
has  given  you  more,  far  more  than  this  ;  and  yet 
how  helpless  and  poor  did  you  not  come  into  the 
world  ?  Go,  and  give  more  than  alms.  Remem- 
ber the  words  of  Jesus,  and  let  them  resound  in 
your  hearts  :  "  What  ye  have  done  to  the  least  of 
these,  ye  have  done  to  me." 

Go  forth  and  visit  the  abode  of  poverty  and 
misery,  and  behold  there  the  hungering  father  and 
the  starving  mother  on  the  comfortless  bed  of  sick- 
ness, with  no  one  to  nurse  them,  no  one  to  advise, 
without  a  doctor  and  without  medicine,  surrounded 
by  terrified  and  weeping  children  :  there  is  the 
post  of  honor  for  thee ;  there  is  the  field  in  which 
thou  art  called  to  sow  blessed  seeds  for  eternity ; 
there  is  the  path  that  will  lead  thee  to  glory.  If 
God  have  bestowed  upon  thee  in  rich  measure,  or 
even  in  moderation,  the  goods  of  this  earth,  then 
seek  out  the  poor  families  in  thy  neighborhood ; 
inquire  how  they  live ;  find  out  if  there  be  any 
sick  among  them,  and  if  so,  be  thou  their  minis- 
tering; angel ! 

In  many  cases  the  alms  which  you  fling  to  a 
professional  beggar  in  the  street  are  no  more  than 
an  encouragement  to  his  laziness,  a  premium  to 
his  want  of  thrift  and  order.  But  could  you  be- 
hold with  your  eyes  the  interior  of  many  a  poor 


78  THE  SICK. 

home,  those  eyes  would  weep  tears  of  blood.  It 
would  startle  you  to  discover  such  nameless  mis- 
ery in  a  hovel  at  the  side  of  the  pomp  and  luxury 
of  the  neighboring  palace.  You  would  shudder, 
at  the  thought  that,  in  a  Christian  city,  there  could 
be  so  much  unalleviated  suffering,  —  so  much  un- 
known sorrow  among  so  many  thousands  of  joyful 
beings.  Though  the  sick  Lazarus,  covered  with 
sores,  may  not  in  our  day  always  be  found  out- 
side the  rich  man's  door,  endeavoring  to  stay  his 
hunger  with  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the  rich 
man's  table,  he  may  be  found  in  a  dwelling  close 
by,  where  his  groans  are  heard  by  the  omnipres- 
ent God  alone. 

If  it  be  in  thy  power,  remember  the  sick  stranger 
with  charitable  institutions  for  his  benefit.  It  was 
one  of  the  most  praiseworthy  customs  of  our  fore- 
fathers that,  when  blessed  with  riches,  they  ap- 
plied part  of  these  to  founding  pious  and  char- 
itable institutions.  God  bestowed  upon  them 
bountiful  superfluity,  and  by  their  last  testaments 
they  gratefully  returned  a  share  of  it  to  God. 
Their  pious  hearts,  which  called  God  the  Father 
of  all,  were  open  to  love  of  their  poorer  fellow- 
men  ;  and  when  the  time  came,  the  needy  were 
found  numbered  among  their  heirs. 

In  many  places,  this  excellent,  truly  Christian 
custom  is  only  occasionally  followed ;  in  others,  it 
has  ceased  to  exist.  Our  fathers  died,  but  to  this 
day  thousands  of  sick  persons,  who  are  nursed  in 


THE   SICK.  79 

the  institutions  founded  by  their  benevolence,  send 
up  grateful  prayers  for  their  unknown  and  long 
deceased  benefactors.  Will  future  generations 
pray  thus  for  us?  O,  ye  wealthy  of  the  earth, 
your  children's  children  will  glance  with  indiffer- 
ence at  the  marble  mausoleums  you  have  erected 
for  yourselves.  They  will  smile  contemptuously 
at  the  futile  vanity  which  made  you  surround 
yourselves  with  pomp  even  in  the  grave.  A  grate- 
ful tear  shed  by  a  poor  sufferer  who  had  been  re- 
lieved in  an  institution  which  perpetuated  your 
kindness,  even  after  your  death,  would  have  been 
of  more  worth  than  the  cold  drop  which  the  artist's 
chisel  fashions  on  the  marble  statue  above  your 
graves.  This  tear  will  crumble  away  with  the 
stone  in  which  it  is  cut ;  the  poor  man's  tear  will 
be  registered  in  heaven. 

Let  us  return  to  the  good  old  custom  of  our 
fathers ;  let  us  remember  on  our  bed  of  sickness 
those  helpless  sufferers  who  have  no  one  to  take 
care  of  them  as  we  have  ;  and  let  us  contribute  to 
allay  their  pains,  even  after  God  has  put  an  end 
to  ours. 

Honor,  wherever  thou  meetest  them,  the  suffer- 
ings of  thy  sick  fellow-creature.  Wert  thou  not 
liis  friend  before,  become  so  when  he  suffers. 
Wert  thou  even  once  his  enemy,  go  to  him,  and 
be  reconciled.  If  he  have  offended  thee,  go  to 
him  and  pardon  him  his  trespass,  that  he  may  part 
from  thee  and  from  life  with   a  more    cheerful 


80  THE  SICK. 

spirit.  If  lie  have  reason  to  be  angered  with  thee, 
go  to  him  and  seek  his  forgiveness.  Let  no  one 
depart  from  thee  in  anger,  that  in  eternity  there 
may  be  no  being  willing  to  stand  forth  and  accuse 
thee. 

Sooner  or  later  thou  mayest  thyself  be  thrown 
upon  a  bed  of  sickness.  No  balm,  no  draught  will 
then  be  so  potent  to  soothe  as  the  thought,  that  no 
fellow-being  bears  anger  against  thee  ;  that  though 
many  a  kind  heart  will  send  a  sigh  of  regret  after 
thee  into  eternity,  not  one  will  curse  thee  ! 

Glorify  thy  Christian  faith  in  thy  hour  of  suf- 
fering, by  patience  and  pious  resignation  to  the 
will  of  thy  Creator,  who  has  ever  guided  thee, 
and  who  will  be  thy  guide  henceforward  as 
heretofore.  And  glorify  thy  faith  in  God's  provi- 
dence by  quiescent  trust,  and  calm  abiding,  and 
cheerful  resignation.  Wish  not  for  dissolution, 
neither  fear  the  quiet  sleep  of  death.  Millions 
have  died  before  thee,  millions  will  die  after  thee  ; 
it  is  the  Divine  law  that  rules  the  universe  ;  it  is 
for  the  good  of  the  world.  Thou  hast  indeed 
died  many  a  time  already.  As  often  in  thy  life 
as  thou  hast  fallen  asleep,  thou  hast  tasted  death, 
for  it  is  but  the  last  sleep.  It  is  not  thyself  that 
sleepest  away,  but  only  thy  body.  Thy  soul 
sleepeth  not;  it  keeps  vigil  with  God,  it  lives 
near  him,  it  draws  nigh  to  more  blissful  spheres, 
and  smiles  at  its  own  past  fears. 

And  suppose  thy  illness  should  not  prove  deadly, 


THE   SICK  81 

but  that  thou  art  destined  to  recover.  Is  this, 
then,  so  great  a  happiness  ?  Thou  wilt  step  back 
from  the  open  grave  only  to  approach  it  again  in 
a  few  years.  Thy  earthly  dream  will  be  pro- 
longed for  a  few  moments,  and  thy  entrance  into 
the  glory  of  the  better  world  which  awaits  thee, 
according  to  Jesus's  promise,  will  be  delayed  for  a 
few  days. 

Even  on  thy  bed  of  sickness,  cease  not  thy 
works  of  charity.  Even  on  thy  bed  of  sickness, 
do  good  without  ceasing.  Shouldst  thou  in  the 
days  of  health  have  neglected  to  do  it,  do  it  now 
while  there  is  yet  time.  Let  not  a  day  of  thy  life 
pass  by  without  an  act  of  Christian  love.  The 
remembrance  of  thy  well-doing  will  be  thy  happi- 
ness in  death. 

But  in  sickness  as  in  health,  at  all  times  alike, 
the  true  Christian  is  ready  to  exchange  the  transi- 
tory for  the  eternal.  Not  that  it  would  be  right 
to  dwell  constantly  upon  the  subject  of  death. 
Nay,  it  would  be  folly  to  mar  by  sad  thoughts  the 
many  blessings  which  we  receive  here  below  from 
the  bountiful  hand  of  God.  But  live  as  if  thou 
wert  to  be  called  away  from  this  world  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly.  Prepare  thy  soul  that  it  may 
be  ready  to  depart  at  any  moment.  Put  thy 
house  in  order,  that,  when  sickness  and  death 
overtake  thee,  thou  shalt  be  found  to  have  fulfilled 
thy  every  duty  towards  those  that  depend  on  thee. 
Put  thy  house  in  order.     Attend  at  all  times  to 

4*  F 


§2  THE  SICK. 

thy  avocations  with  such  care  and  fidelity,  that 
thy  relatives,  when  they  lose  thee,  may  not  have 
to  sustain  a  double  loss,  —  a  twofold  trial.  When 
in  health,  thou  providest  for  those  that  be- 
long to  thee  with  tender  solicitude  ;  but  reflect, 
would  they  be  provided  for,  if,  this  very  day, 
some  untoward  accident  should  suddenly  tear  thee 
from  them,  and  to-morrow  they  should  stand 
alone  with  tearful  eyes,  without  thee  to  lean 
upon  ?  Flatter  not  thyself  with  the  hope  that 
thou  wilt  have  time  during  long  and  lingering  ill- 
ness to  put  thy  house  in  order.  Dost  thou  not 
each  week  see  men  called  away  in  the  prime  of 
their  manhood  ?  Dost  thou  not  see  others  whom 
protracted  illness  has  deprived  of  all  power  and 
desire  to  attend  to  serious  business  ? 

The  true  Christian  proves  himself  such  by 
being  ever  ready,  ever  prepared  in  all  his  rela- 
tions, whether  as  a  citizen  of  this  world  or  of 
eternity.  He  passes  cheerfully  and  composedly 
through  life,  for  his  accounts,  both  as  regards  this 
world  and  the  next,  are  at  all  times  made  up. 

Thus  let  it  be  with  me,  my  God  and  Father  ! 
The  best  Christian  is  the  greatest  man  on  earth. 
He  looks  with  equal  calm  to  the  past  and  to  the 
future  ;  he  stands  in  equally  happy  relations  to 
both.  He  is  a  true  hero,  for  while  gratefully 
enjoying  the  pleasures  of  life  which  thou,  O 
Father,  vouchsafest  to  him,  his  spirit  dwelleth  in 
anticipation   in   the   realms   of   eternity.     He   is 


THE  SICK.  83 

above  every  accident,  for  none  can  take  him  by 
surprise  ;  lie  is  greater  than  any  fate  that  may 
befall  him,  for  trusting  in  thee,  O  my  God,  his 
spirit  soars  above  all  sublunary  things. 

Such  let  me  be,  let  me  become  !  Let  my  death 
be  such  that  it  may  teach  others  how  to  live  ;  and 
let  my  life  be  such  that  it  may  teach  others  how 
to  die  joyfully  !  Thus  lived,  thus  died,  my  Sav- 
iour. He  who  won  heavenly  bliss  for  me,  Jesus, 
my  divine  teacher.  He  was  the  faithful  friend 
of  the  sick,  —  their  adviser,  their  comforter.  I 
will  be  the  same,  as  far  as  my  feeble  powers  will 
allow. 

Yea,  Father !  be  thou  my  relief; 
My  comforter  in  pain  and  grief,  — 

Make  sickness'  self  a  gain  to  me  ; 
Draw  my  heart,  all  sad  hearts  that  bleed, 
Through  all  their  pangs,  in  every  need, 

Unto  thy  love,  and  unto  thee. 

Jesus  !  to  thee  my  heart  appeals,  — 
O  help  !  for  thou  art  he  who  heals. 

The  sorest  pain  canst  thou  make  light, 
Our  sickness  e'en  thou  send'st  to  bless,  — 
Thou  art  our  refuge  in  distress, 

Our  tears  are  ever  in  thy  sight. 

To  thee  my  trust,  my  faith,  shall  hold. 

0  never  let  my  love  wax  cold, 
Health,  sickness,  whatsoe'er  befall. 

Then  can  no  pangs  my  spirit  shake, 

1  joy  to  bear  them  for  thy  sake. 

My  grateful  heart  gives  thanks  for  all. 


A    FORETASTE    OF    HEAVEN. 


Part  I. 


Let  everything  that  liveth  praise  the  Lord  !  — 
Deep  in  our  spirit  the  responsive  chord 
Awakes  devotion,  and  a  holy  joy 
Which  knoweth  no  alloy. 

Try  him,  and  prove  him,  and  see  how  bountiful  he  is. 
Truth  and  compassion,  tender  love,  are  his. 
Reigning  forever,  o'er  us  and  around, 
Still  is  his  mercy  found. 

Let  everything  that  loveth,  love  the  Lord  ! 
High  on  his  throne,  by  all  the  saints  adored, 
Seraph  and  cherub,  —  all  the  heavenly  host,  — 
Happiest,  who  love  him  most. 

Thirst  then,  our  souls,  like  the  blest  souls  above, 
Holy  and  happy,  evermore  to  love 
Him  who  created  us,  who  keeps  us  still 
By  his  most  gracious  will. 

All  hail !     "We  love  him  evermore.     The  dust 
Loves  its  Consoler,  puts  in  him  its  trust. 
All  eager  longings  he  will  satisfy, — 
Tears  he  himself  will  dry. 

(St.  Matt.  v.  8.) 

WILL  lift  myself  out  of  the  slough 
of  this  world,  I  will  rise  above  the 
storms  of  this  life,  and  lay  hold  on 
those  higher  things  that  afford  lasting 
peace  of  mind,  indestructible  happiness.     What 


A    FORETASTE    OF  HEAVEN.  85 

is  to  me  the  noisy  tumult  of  the  world,  amid 
which  I  never  feel  perfectly  satisfied,  —  where 
every  light  has  its  shadow,  and  where  every  joy 
has  its  attendant  woe  ?  Can  I  there  live  entirely 
to  myself,  entirely  possess  myself?  No,  I  am 
there  the  victim  of  every  evil ;  of  care,  and 
trouble,  and  vain  wishes,  of  wrecked  hopes,  of 
sad  events,  and  of  wearisome  pleasures.  I  am 
never  less  lonely  than  when,  alone,  engaged  in 
silent  meditation,  I  lift  up  my  soul  to  thee,  Lord 
of  all  destinies.  I  pity  those  who  have  never 
enjoyed  such  an  hour,  and  happily  their  number 
is  small ;  for  even  to  the  most  frivolous  worldling 
there  comes  at  length  a  moment  —  perhaps,  in- 
deed, it  comes  sooner  to  him  than  to  others  — 
when  pleasure  palls  upon  him,  when  he  feels 
society  a  burden,  or,  at  least,  when  he  derives 
but  little  gratification  from  it ;  when  he  yearns 
for  something  different,  when,  meditating  on  the 
worthlessness  of  the  life  of  trifling  he  leads,  he 
begins  to  have  a  presentiment  of  a  better  state, 
and  ardently  to  desire  it. 

And  yet  he  fails  to  lay  hold  on  it.  For  it  seems 
to  him  incredible  that  it  should  be  in  the  bosom 
of  the  highest  wisdom,  in  the  sanctity  of  religion, 
that  he  is  to  seek  for  it.  Religion,  as  he  feels  it, 
inspires  him  with  too  little  respect.  It  is  to  him 
no  more  than  a  confused  medley  of  vague  and 
disjointed  sentences  and  precepts,  which  have 
remained   in   his   memory   since    childhood,   but 


86  A  FORETASTE    OF  HEAVEN. 

which  he  has  never  reflected  upon  or  endeavored 
to  systematize.  He  wonders  that  people  should 
affect  to  find  therein  matters  of  such  importance, 
and  perhaps  he  smiles  compassionately  at  their 
folly ;  and  he  returns,  though  with  failing  heart, 
to  his  former  mode  of  life,  to  his  accustomed 
amusements,  soon  again  to  weary  of  them,  and 
soon  again  to  feel  that  he  has  no  joy  in  such  ex- 
istence. 

So  far,  indeed,  he  is  right :  the  disconnected 
fragments  of  Biblical  phrases  learnt  by  rote  in 
childhood,  which  he  calls  his  religion,  and  which 
he  discards  from  his  thoughts  the  moment  the 
church  service  (which  he  attends  merely  because 
it  is  customary  so  to  do)  is  over,  that  is  in  truth 
a  poor  religion.  But  this  has  no  affinity  with  the 
religion  which  Jesus  the  Messiah  revealed  to  us. 
His  religion  is  not  a  matter  of  memory,  nor  a 
matter  of  routine,  but  a  living  power  of  God  in 
the  human  soul. 

However,  thousands  drag  on  through  life  in 
this  way,  following  their  craft,  their  art,  their 
trade,  then  studies  ;  allowing  themselves,  in  times 
of  war  as  in  times  of  peace,  to  be  consumed  by 
fleeting  pleasures  and  long-enduring  pains.  They 
commit  their  happiness,  their  contentment,  to  the 
rule  of  chance ;  believe  that  they  can  after  all  do 
nothing  towards -securing  it  themselves;  and  are 
totally  ignorant  that  it  is  in  man's  power  to  be 
lastingly  happy,  —  to  enjoy,  here  on  earth  already, 


A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  87 

a  foretaste  of  heaven.  At  length,  possibly,  they 
learn  to  despise  all  pleasures,  and  sometimes  be- 
come discontented  grumblers  whom  nothing  can 
satisfy,  —  haters  of  then  kind,  and  despisers  of 
their  own  life,  because  they  have  not  leamt  to 
know  true  pleasure. 

There  are  again  others,  wiser  than  these,  who, 
strengthened  by  religion,  or  animated  and  exalted 
by  nobler  sentiments,  do  not  deny  the  value  of 
this  worldly  life.  But  they  deplore  the  fleeting 
character  of  all  pleasure.  "  I  also  was  at  one 
time  thoroughly  happy,  and  enjoyed  a  foretaste 
of  Heaven,"  say  many.  "  I  seemed  to  be  steeped 
ill  happiness.  But  —  how  soon  did  not  my  dream 
vanish  !  Yes,  it  was  but  a  dream,  and  now  it  lies 
far  behind  me  in  the  realm  of  the  past,  like  a 
fading  shadow.  Soon  the  very  memory  of  it  will 
be  almost  lost  to  me.  I  shall  then  continue  my 
way  through  the  monotonous  dulness  of  every- 
day life,  as  through  a  desert." 

Let  every  man  take  a  retrospect  of  the  days 
that  lie  behind  him,  reflect  upon  them,  and  then 
ask  himself:  "Which  period  of  my  life  was  the 
happiest?  Which  was  the  sweetest  moment  I 
ever  enjoyed  ?  " 

Many  of  us  will  at  once  recall  to  mind  the  in- 
nocent days  and  delights  of  childhood,  those. days 
when  life  was  colored  with  the  rosy  light  of  morn. 
Then  the  merest  trifle  seemed  a  treasure,  a  flower 
was  a  jewel  in  our  estimation,  and  a  walk  our 


88  A   FORETASTE    OF  HEAVEN. 

greatest  happiness.  Everything  was  invested  in 
our  eyes  with  a  higher  significance  ;  our  own  joy- 
ous souls  seemed  to  infuse  themselves  even  into 
the  lifeless  things  that  surrounded  us,  and  we 
talked  to  and  loved  objects  that  could  not  return 
our  affection.  With  happy  carelessness  we  skipped 
over  the  thorns  in  our  path,  and  whatever  wounded 
us  was  forgotten  as  soon  as  the  tear  was  dry  that 
the  pain  had  called  forth.  O,  what  brilliant 
prospects  all  thoughts  of  the  future  then  conjured 
up !  What  great  expectations  did  not  others  en- 
tertain in  regard  to  us,  and  did  we  not  ourselves 
entertain  as  to  what  we  should  perform  in  later 
years  !  "  Yes ;  that  was  the  happiest  period  of 
my  life  !  "  many  will  exclaim. 

I  believe  it ;  yet,  when  I  look  nearer  into  the 
matter,  it  seems  to  me  that  each  age  has  its  own 
pleasure  which  God  has  ordained  for  our  enjoy- 
ment. It  cannot  be  our  destiny  to  remain  chil- 
dren forever,  —  who  indeed  would  wish  it  to  be 
so  ?  Who  would  desire  to  return  to  that  dream 
of  the  past,  out  of  which  we  see  every  child  long- 
ing to  emerge,  that  it  may  take  part  in  the  pleas- 
ures of  an  older  age  ?  It  would  be  sad  were 
there  no  higher  felicity  in  life  than  that  of  the 
child,  for  that  we  can  never  recall.  It  seems  to 
me  that  that  only  can  be  the  highest  happiness 
which  each  human  being  may,  with  a  resolute 
will,  renew  at  any  time. 

But  let  us  examine  more  closely  what  consti- 


A   FORETASTE    OF  HEAVEN.  89 

tuted  our  happiness  when  we  were  children.  Was 
it  the  outward  things  that  surrounded  us  ?  Was  it 
riches,  pomp,  and  honors  ?  Ah,  no  !  Seated  on 
a  heap  of  sand,  we  thought  ourselves  richer  than 
kings ;  with  a  few  boards  we  built  ourselves  pal- 
aces ;  a  little  picture  would  fill  us  with  delight. 
Why  was  this  ?  Surely  the  source  of  these  joys 
lay  ivithin  us,  not  in  the  outward  world.  We 
were  content  with  what  we  possessed,  and,  like 
the  bee,  we  sucked  honey  even  from  the  lowliest 
flower.  We  took  no  care  for  the  morrow ;  for 
we  believed  that  each  day  had  its  own  joys,  and 
we  thought  only  of  the  present.  If  we  had  rai- 
ment and  food  sufficient,  we  asked  not  for  more. 
We  had  light  hearts ;  and  although  we  knew 
then,  in  reference  to  the  smaller  things  of  life,  as 
well  as  we  do  now,  in  reference  to  the  greater, 
that  much  that  was  disagreeable  had  to  be  en- 
countered, that  many  tears  would  necessarily  be 
shed,  that  many  fears  would  be  excited,  yet  we 
never  dwelt  long  on  what  occasioned  us  dissatis- 
faction ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  only  felt  the  happier 
for  having  escaped  from  some  cause  of  fear,  only 
rejoiced  the  more  when  we  had  been  relieved 
from  some  state  of  pain.  For  this  reason  we 
seldom  repined.  We  were  joyous  because  we 
anticipated  not  evil,  because  our  hearts  were  pure 
and  our  consciences  unburdened.  Let  us  recall  to 
mind  the  bitterest  moments  of  our  childhood ! 
Were   they  not  those  in  which  we  had  for  the 


90  A  FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

first  time  done  wrong,  and  in  which  we  feared 
discovery,  and  looked  forward  with  trembling  to 
the  punishment  that  awaited  us  ?  But  this  very 
fear  served  as  a  correction.  We  resisted  the  sin 
the  next  time  it  lured  us.  When  the  punishment 
had  been  submitted  to,  the  guilt  expiated,  we 
again  skipped  merrily  through  life. 

Alas !  wherefore  have  we  forgotten  the  wisdom 
of  our  youth  ?  wherefore  have  we  become  more 
full  of  folly  in  old  age  than  when  we  were  in 
childhood  ?  Wherefore  do  we  with  unpardonable 
self-deception,  instead  of  seeking  our  happiness 
and  welfare  within  ourselves,  expect  it  from  cir- 
cumstances that  lie  beyond  us,  and  which  after  all 
only  assume,  in  regard  to  us,  the  character  with 
which  we  ourselves  invest  them  ?  Why  do  our 
thoughts  attach  themselves  with  senseless  obsti- 
nacy to  all  that  is  disagreeable,  rather  than  to 
that  which  is  innocently  pleasurable  ?  Why  are 
our  hearts  no  longer  so  contented  as  at  that  time, 
when  we  extracted  pleasures  from  trifles  ?  Why 
is  our  position  not  sufficiently  exalted,  our  income 
not  sufficiently  large,  our  apparel,  our  furniture 
not  costly  enough,  although  all  are  far  better  than 
the  humble  cottage  that  once  satisfied  us  ?  Why 
is  it  that  we  are  forever  troubled  by  a  secret  and 
never-ceasing  anxiety,  a  restless  consciousness  of 
wrong  ?  Why  is  it  that  we  never  enjoy  a 
pleasure  without  being  aware  of  some  admixture 
of  bitterness  in  it  ? 


A   FORETASTE    OF  HEAVEN.  91 

Because  we  have  deserted  the  wisdom  that 
belongs  to  the  age  of  childhood?  Neither  the 
world,  nor  the  people  that  surround  us,  have 
changed  since  then  ;  the  change  is  hi  ourselves. 
We  have  been  untrue  to  ourselves,  and  have 
attached  ourselves  to  outward  things  as  though 
they  could  give  us  back  the  lost  happiness  ;  and 
we  pursue  them  with  blind  ardor,  yet  never  feel 
the  bliss  of  former  days.  It  is  not  an  angel,  but 
our  own  vanity,  ambition,  covetousness,  and  luxu- 
riousness,  our  own  pride,  cunning,  envy,  and 
hatred,  that  have  driven  us  forth  from  the  para- 
dise of  youth.  "  Except  ye  become  as  little 
children,"  said  Jesus  Christ,  the  wisest  of  the 
wise,  "  ye  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

If,  therefore,  thou  believest  the  period  of  thy 
early  youth  to  have  been  the  happiest  of  thy  life, 
forget  not  why  it  was  so.  It  depends  upon  thy- 
self whether  the  heaven  of  thy  childhood  shall 
spread  over  thy  later  days  also.  Become  again 
what  thou  wert  then  ;  simple,  pious,  forgiving, 
loving,  content  with  little,  and  the  foretaste  of 
heaven  which  thou  then  enjoyed,  thou  wilt  again 
experience.  Thou  wilt  then  understand  Jesus, 
the  wisest  of  the  wise,  whose  words  thou  hast, 
perhaps,  often  perused,  but  without  entirely  com- 
prehending then'  deep  wisdom. 

There  are,  however,  many  persons  whose  hap- 
piness in  childhood  has  been  disturbed  by  sickness, 
by  the  cruelty  of  a  step-father  or  a  step-mother, 


92  A   FORETASTE    OF  HEAVEN. 

or  by  other  misfortunes,  and  who  cannot,  there- 
fore, reckon  those  years  among  their  happiest. 
But  if  thou  belongest  to  these,  which  was  the 
most  delightful  period  of  the  other  portion  of  thy 
life  ?  Perhaps  that  in  which  thy  heart  first 
opened  to  love,  when  the  privileged  day  had 
come,  and  as  youth,  or  as  maiden,  thou  madest 
thy  first  independent  step  in  the  world.  Thou 
still  rememberest  those  hours  of  sweet  reverie, 
thy  hopes,  thy  longings.  Heaven  and  earth 
seemed  to  grow  brighter  under  the  influence  of 
the  inexpressible  feelings  which  then  moved  thy 
heart.  Thy  every  thought  was  devoted  to  the 
beloved  object.  Everything  connected  with  it 
assumed  higher  value  in  thine  eyes.  A  look  was 
enough  to  make  thee  happy ;  the  simplest  gift 
was  prized  by  thee  above  a  crown ;  the  first 
flower  received  from  the  hand  of  thy  beloved 
thou  wouldst  not  have  exchanged  for  the  costli- 
est jewel.  Thou  didst  enter  a  second  time  the 
heaven  of  thy  childhood,  but  with  new  feelings, 
with  a  new  spirit.  What  a  divine  halo  seemed 
spread  around  everything,  and  how  full  of  noble 
virtues  the  beloved  object !  How  often  in  thy 
humility  thou  didst  deem  thyself  unworthy  of  the 
love  granted  thee  !  How  earnestly  thou  strovest 
to  improve  thyself,  and  to  please  by  higher  quali- 
ties !  How  much  bliss  was  there  not  often  in  thy 
sorrow,  and  how  much  comfort  even  in  thy  pains  ! 
What   elevated   resolves   passed   at    that    period 


A  FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  93 

through  thy  soul !     How  thou  didst  blush  at  every 
vice,  at  every  impure  thought  and  action  ! 

"  I,  also,  was  once  in  paradise  !  "  cry  many,  in 
whom. the  memory  of  those  by-gone  days  is  re- 
vived. "  I  was  full  of  happiness  !  And  yet  it 
was  no  more  than  a  delirium  of  the  imagination, 
a  foolish  self-delusion.  Too  soon,  alas  !  I  awoke 
from  my  dream,  and,  when  more  calm,  I  perceived 
that  the  many  perfections  I  had  beheld  in  the  be- 
loved object,  either  did  not  exist  at  all,  or  only 
in  verv  small  measure." 

Yes,  such  was  thy  experience  ;  but,  neverthe- 
less, those  days  count  among  the  happiest  of  thy 
earthly  existence.  Where,  then,  was  the  source 
of  the  bliss  that  filled  thy  heart  ?  It  was  not  in 
the  outer  world,  —  for  thou  hast  just  confessed  that 
thou  hadst  deceived  thyself;  nay,  the  heavenly 
being  that  thou  lovedst  was  within  thee,  and  thou 
didst  paint  its  image  on  the  outer  world.  Thou 
didst  love  the  perfect,  noble  duty,  the  grace  of 
goodness,  the  sublimity  of  truth,  — -  not  perfidy, 
not  vainglory,  not  riches,  not  rank.  Thou  lov- 
edst, and  thy  love  lent  beauty  even  to  the  defects 
of  its  object. 

The  awakening  of  first  love  is  but  a  revival  of 
the  innocence  of  youth,  and  of  the  reverence  for 
the  divine  element  in  the  nature  of  man  !  And 
that  divine  element  which  thou  reverest  was  in 
thyself,  and  thou  now  callest  it  delusion,  because 
thou  failedst  to  find  out  of  thyself  that  ideal  of 


94  A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

every  perfection  that  thou  believedst  to  have  dis- 
covered within  thyself. 

Why  hast  thou  never  since  then  enjoyed  an 
equal  measure  of  happiness?  Why  hast  thou 
cast  away  with  the  delusion,  the  bliss-inspiring 
love  of  the  Divine  and  the  Perfect  ?  Why  hast 
thou  not  sought  the  ideal  within  thyself,  since 
thou  couldst  not  find  it  elsewhere  ?  Why  dost 
thou  not  exert  thy  powers  to  gain  for  thyself  that 
rare  perfection,  that  grace  of  goodness,  that  sub- 
limity of  truth,  the  conception  of  which  caused 
thee  so  much  delight  ?  Why  dost  thou  cease  to 
adorn  thyself,  as  before,  with  nobler  qualities  in 
order  to  please  thy  beloved  ?  Why  dost  thou  not 
now,  as  then,  shun  everything  impure,  every 
vicious  passion,  every  vice  ?  If  thou  didst,  thou 
wouldst  still  be  full  of  bliss,  for  the  world  would 
honor  thee,  and  the  approval  of  God  would  raise 
thee  above  all  the  pains  of  earth.  Ah,  degener- 
ate man  !  hadst  thou  remained  true  to  thy  youth- 
ful ideal  of  perfection,  thou  wouldst  even  to  this 
day  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  heaven  ! 

But  thou  hast  been  untrue  to  thyself,  to  the 
nobler  nature  within  thee.  Thou  didst  not  find 
in  others  all  the  perfections  which  thou  wor- 
shipped ;  and  in  consequence  thou  forgottest  thy- 
self, thou  becamest  base  and  bad  as  others,  per- 
haps even  worse  than  they.  To  this  dost  thou 
owe  that  thy  heaven  has  fled  from  thee. 

O  Lord,  my  God,  Creator  of  the  heavenly  bliss 


A    FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  95 

enjoyed  on  earth,  I  also  was  once  fall  of  bliss,  and 
I  enjoyed  the  foretaste  of  higher  things.  Ah  !  in 
like  manner  as  thou  gavest  it  to  the  first  human 
being,  made  in  thine  image,  thou  bestowest  to 
this  day  with  inexhaustible  bounty  a  paradise  on 
each  earth-born  soul.  How  long  he  shall  retain 
it  depends  upon  himself.  It  is  his  as  long  as  he 
remains  virtuous,  as  long  as  he  does  thy  will,  as 
long  as  he  continues  to  be  pure  in  heart,  as  long 
as  he  does  not  desecrate  the  Divine  element 
within  himself.  But  the  impure  desire  for  out- 
ward happiness  drives  him  out  of  his  Eden,  and 
he  sees  thee  no  longer.  His  eyes  are  fixed 
greedily  on  the  goods  of  this  lower  world,  as  are 
those  of"  the  unreasoning  brute,  instead  of  being 
uplifted  to  the  heavenly  gift,  as  beseems  those 
who  are  made  in  thine  image. 

A  second  time  the  way  to  the  lost  paradise  has 
been  opened  to  us,  by  thee,  O  blessed  One  who 
took  pity  on  the  world,  Saviour,  Divine  Teacher, 
by  thee  and  by  thy  word  !  Why  do  we  close  our 
ears  against  thy  voice  ?  The  greatest  desire  of 
all  men  is  to  be  perfectly  happy ;  in  the  days  of 
childhood,  and  of  sweet  adolescence,  the  magic 
power  of  virtue  affords  us  a  foretaste  of  the  high- 
est bliss  ;  —  why  do  we  not,  O  Jesus,  truly  under- 
stand the  wisdom  in  thy  words :  "  Blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God  "  ? 


A   FORETASTE    OF    HEAVEN. 


Part  II. 


If  I  trust  in  God  alone, 

If  I  feel  he  is  mine  own, 

If  my  heart  until  I  die 

Ne'er  forget  his  constancy, 

Naught  of  sorrow  can  I  know, 

Feel  naught  but  love,  devotion,  joy  o'erflow. 

If  in  him  my  soul  is  blest, 
Willingly  I  leave  the  rest ; 
Tread  in  faith  my  pilgrim  road, 
Trusting  only  in  my  God. 
Earthly  troubles,  faint  and  dim, 
Fade  into  nothing  while  I  rest  on  him. 

Where  in  God's  own  sight  I  stand, 

There  only  is  my  fatherland  ; 

Every  gift  he  sends  me  thence 

Is  proof  of  my  inheritance. 

Kindred  and  friends  long  mourned  in  vain, 

With  youth  renewed,  there  shall  I  meet  again. 

(Rom.  v.  3.) 

EA,  I  know  it,  I  believe  it,  and  I  feel 
it ;  I  see  it  in  every  event  of  my  life, 
in  the  various  destinies  of  my  fellow- 
creatures,  in  all  the  splendid  works  of' 
nature,  —  that  sublime  and  eternal  temple  of  God, 


A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  97 

—  that  the  all-loving  Father  has  created  us  chil- 
dren of  the  earth  for  perfect  happiness,  that  we 
may  already  here  below  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  heav- 
enly bliss ;  but  that  the  source  of  our  delights,  as 
the  source  of  our  pains,  is  in  our  own  bosoms,  — 
springs  from  our  virtues  or  our  vices. 

How  unutterably  happy  must  not  the  man  feel, 
whose  heart  has  not  one  thing  to  upbraid  him  with 
in  respect  to  any  of  his  relations  in  life  ;  who  does 
not  permit  his  mind  to  be  unduly  disturbed  by 
cares  of  any  khid ;  who  does  not  allow  either  un- 
bridled anger,  or  unrestrained  affection,  to  lead 
him  into  any  excess  !  In  him  dwells  a  sublime 
calm,  of  which  ordinary  men  can  hardly  form  a 
conception,  —  that  calm  whLch  is  the  true  peace 
of  God. 

Have  you^  ever  passed  a  fine  spring  morning 
alone  amid  the  new-born  beauties  of  nature  ? 
When,  at  such  a  time,  you  have  been  roving  in 
the  shade  of  peaceful  groves,  through  the  green 
canopy  of  which  the  rosy  waves  of  sunlight  broke  ; 
when  the  soft  breath  of  morn  was  wafted  across 
the  verdant  landscape,  and  the  numberless  flower- 
ets shivered,  and  the  dew  on  the  leaflets  glittered 
in  the  tears  of  joy  which  heaven  had  shed  at  the 
holiness  and  goodness  of  the  Creator ;  and  the 
cascade  leaping  from  the  rock,  and  the  river  in  its 
bed,  and  the  forest  on  the  hill,  sent  forth  solemn 
murmurs ;  while  high  up  above,  and  deep  down 
below,  the  air  resounded  with  the  wonderful  song 
5  G 


98  A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

of  birds,  and  the  buzzing  of  insects,  —  0  what 
were  your  feelings?  Did  not  a  sense  of  inex- 
pressible delight  flash  through  your  bosom  ?  You 
drew  a  deep  breath ;  your  body  seemed  ethereal- 
ized ;  you  felt  as  if  you  must  join  your  voice  to 
the  voices  of  the  air,  as  if  you  must  mix  your 
tears  with  the  tears  of  heaven ;  you  longed  for 
the  wings  of  rosy  morn  to  soar  up  high  into  the 
empyrean,  or  to  sink  into  the  green  depths  of  the 
forests,  or  to  lose  yourself  in  the  blue  haze  that 
veiled  the  unknown  distance.  You  longed  to 
pour  your  love  through  the  entire  world. 

Did  you  ever  he  down  on  the  top  of  a  mountain, 
whence  you  beheld  a  wide  landscape  with  its 
fields  and  cottages  spread  in  silent  repose  before 
your  eyes  ?  In  your  bosom  also  perfect  quiet 
reigned !  You  forgot  all  your  domestic  cares  ; 
no  sorrow  weighed  on  your  spirits,  no  unpleasant 
remembrance  disturbed  the  beneficent  calm,  no 
passion  dared  to  intrude  to  break  the  holy  peace 
of  your  soul,  and  a  voice  within  whispered, 
"  Blessed  were  I,  could  I  forever  remain  thus  !  ': 
What  you  then  felt  was  a  fleeting  foretaste  of 
heaven,  which  sometimes  even  passionate,  unqui- 
et spirits  are  allowed  to  enjoy,  in  order  that  they 
may  look  into  themselves,  and  earnestly  reflect 
how  they  might  perpetuate  this  tranquil  and  bless- 
ed state.  What  you  then  felt  was  the  peace  of 
God,  which  the  virtuous  and  wise,  which  the  true 
followers  of  Christ,  experience  even  in  the  midst 


A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  99 

of  the  greatest  tribulation,  and  which  raises  them 
above  it.  You  were  happy  in  the  moments  al- 
luded to,  because  you  learnt  then  to  forget  your- 
selves,, because  you  were  free  from  the  mundane 
desires  which  regained  possession  of  you  as  soon 
as  you  re-entered  your  homes.  But  woe  to  him 
who,  in  order  thoroughly  to  enjoy  life,  must 
learn  to  forget  himself!  This  is  a  proof,  either 
that  his  heart  is  burdened  with  the  consciousness 
of  many  sins,  or  that  it  is  oppressed  with  cares 
and  unsatisfied  wants,  springing  from  his  vanity, 
his  frivolity,  his  covetousness,  or  other  impure 
tendencies  ;  or  that  when  he  acts,  he  does  not  act 
wisely,  and  that  what  he  possesses  he  does  not 
possess  with  wisdom  ;  but  that  he  allows  himself 
to  be  consumed  by  a  thousand  vain  and  petty 
cares,  and  creates  for  himself  sorrows  which  he 
will  eventually  discover  to  have  been  unnecessary. 
The  true  disciple  of  Jesus  never  needs  to  for- 
get himself  in  order  to  be  cheerful  in  his  very 
innermost  soul.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  when  he 
examines  his  inward  being,  and  his  relations  to 
the  Father  of  all  life,  that  he  feels  most  happy. 
The  present  day  may  have  its  storms,  but  the 
future  only  smiles  the  more  brightly  to  him.  Pie 
is  with  God,  and  God  is  with  him.  Whether 
he  be  of  high  or  humble  station,  rich  or  poor, 
praised  or  blamed,  to  him  it  is  all  the  same  ;  for 
the  source  of  his  happiness  is  not  in  the  out- 
ward world,  but  within  himself.     And  he  is  with 


100  A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

God,  and  God  is  with  hin.  And  "  blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God,"  here  al- 
ready, in  their  foretaste  of  the  higher  bliss  of 
heaven. 

Almost  every  stage  of  human  life  has  its  heav- 
enly moments,  in  which  mortal  man  feels  himself, 
as  it  were,  involuntarily  raised  above  himself. 
Not  what  we  possess  or  what  we  earn,  not  what 
we  eat  and  drink,  not  our  apparel,  not  what  men 
think  of  us,  but  a  pure  heart  is  the  true  source  of 
happiness. 

Have  you  witnessed,  or  have  you  read  of  how 
persecuted  innocence  has  been  rescued?  how 
some  meritorious  benevolent  man  was  long  mis- 
judged, and  overwhelmed  with  accusations  by  his 
enemies,  until  at  length  the  world  learnt  to  see 
its  own  injustice,  and  every  one  sought  to  make 
some  amends  ?  Do  you  recollect  how  that  recog- 
nition of  long  oppressed  innocence  made  your 
heart  swell  with  emotion  ;  how  a  quiet  joy  took 
possession  of  you,  as  though  it  were  your  own 
innocence  that  had  been  vindicated ;  how  the 
happiness  of  that  virtue  which  had  at  length  re- 
ceived its  reward,  called  tears  of  silent  satisfac- 
tion into  your  eyes  ?  On  that  occasion,  you 
shared  in  spirit,  with  the  person  whose  inno- 
cence was  made  manifest,  a  foretaste  of  heaven. 
It  was  from  your  own  virtuous  feelings  that 
sprang  the  joy  you  experienced.  It  was  the 
germs   of  true  happiness  within  you   that  were 


A    FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  101 

moved ;  it  was  the  source  of  your  eternal  wel- 
fare that  began  to  flow.  Ah !  why  did  you  choke 
up  this  spring  with  the  rubbish  of  lower  desires 
and  petty  cares?  Why  did  you  not  put  forth 
your  full  strength  to  rise  in  future  above  all  low 
tendencies,  and  make  a  resolve  to  remain  for- 
ever the  elevated  being  you  were  during  those 
brief  moments  of  emotion? 

Childhood  has  its  Eden.  Adolescence  has  its 
hours  of  paradise.  But  at  a  later  age  also  we 
behold  from  time  to  time  a  ray,  as  if  from  a  bet- 
ter world,  flashing  across  our  path,  and  lighting  up 
the  commonplace  things  around  us.  These  are 
foretastes  of  heaven,  which  Providence  sends  to 
poor  mortals,  to  stimulate  them  to  strive  after 
that  which  can  alone  render  lasting  such  blissful 
moments. 

Hast  thou  known  the  feelings  of  a  mother  kin- 
dled by  the  smile  of  her  child  standing  before  her 
in  the  fresh  bloom  of  its  loveliness  and  grace  ? 
when  in  silent  but  holy  love  she  bends  over  this 
angel  of  her  life,  and  seems  with  her  kisses  to 
draw  its  pure  soul  over  into  her  own  ?  Hast  thou 
known  the  delight  of  a  father,  when  he  beholds 
for  the  first  time  the  new-born  babe  that  owes  its 
existence  to  him  ?  when  the  infant  smiles  upon 
him  for  the  first  time  ?  when  the  joyous  child 
lisps  its  first  word  ?  when  he  sees  it  growing  in 
health,  industry,  and  virtue  ?  Ah !  the  delights 
of  those   heavenly  moments   he  would  not   ex- 


102  A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

change  for  all  the  treasures  of  the  world?  and 
the  mother  too  feels  this  most  deeply,  and  says, 
"  Take  all  else  from  me,  and  I  am  nevertheless 
blessed  !  "  Queens  may  be  inexpressibly  misera- 
ble, and  beggar-women  unutterably  happy ! 

Such  feelings  are  vibrations  of  the  purest 
chords  of  the  heart.  Alas !  why  do  we  so  often 
leave  them  untouched?  What  is  it  that  draws 
us  all  so  irresistibly  towards  the  sweet  world  of 
childhood  ?  What  is  the  hidden  power  which,  at 
the  sight  of  an  infant,  moves  even  the  barbarian, 
and  which  wms  at  once  the  stranger's  heart  ?  It 
is  the  guileless  trust,  the  sweet  innocence,  the 
winning  grace  of  childhood,  that  charms  us.  It 
is  the  spotless  purity  of  the  angelic  nature ;  it  is 
the  vague  anticipation  of  a  brilliant  future  for  the 
child,  and  of  how  deservedly  —  should  these 
young  beings  preserve  their  purity  and  their 
virtues  in  a  later  age  —  they  will  become  objects 
of  the  world's  devotion.  We  honor  in  the  child 
the  undesecrated  sanctuary  of  the  heart,  which  as 
yet  has  no  presentiment  of  evil.  It  is  not  the 
outward  form,  it  is  not  flesh  and  blood,  that  ex- 
cites our  love  and  admiration  ;  but  the  purity,  the 
something  Divine  that  speaks  to  us  from  the 
frank  and  open  eye,  the  ingenuous  countenance 
of  the  child.  It  is  our  own  inborn  sense  of  vir- 
tue, which,  unconscious  to  ourselves,  animates  us 
at  such  moments.  In  the  intercourse  with  the 
innocent  little  ones,  we  ourselves  become  more 


A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  103 

innocent,  more  noble  and  more  wise ;  we  are 
ashamed  to  appear  before  them  in  all  our  imper- 
fections ;  and  he  who  has  not  the  courage  to 
conquer  his  faults  at  least  tries  to  conceal  them. 
Verily,  we  may  frequently  learn  more,  improve 
more  in  wisdom  and  goodness,  in  the  society  of 
children,  than  in  intercourse  with  the  wisest  of 
our  acquaintance.  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,"  said  Jesus;  "  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  Heaven." 

The  experience  of  every  age  thus  proves  and 
makes  manifest,  that  the  highest  happiness  of 
which  man  is  capable  does  not  depend  upon 
whether  he  has  much  or  little,  but  upon  whether 
he  has  a  pure  heart.  In  the  moments  of  his 
highest  bliss  his  sense  of  virtue  is  always  most 
strongly  excited.  In  such  moments  he  is  good ; 
he  rises  above  selfishness,  malice,  false  pretences, 
and  impure  desires.  In  such  moments  he  will- 
ingly shares  with  others  what  he  possesses,  he 
would  fain  make  the  whole  world  happy ;  he 
forgives  his  mortal  enemy,  and  embraces  all 
mankind  in  his  love. 

It  is  the  power  of  virtue  that  is  strong  within 
him,  and  that  bears  witness  to  the  truth  of  Jesus' 
promise :  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  God! 

Be  pure  of  heart,  and  all  the  sources  of  heav- 
enly bliss  within  you  will  be  opened  up,  and  you 
will   enjoy   constantly    that   foretaste    of   heaven 


104  A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

which  hitherto  has  only  been  vouchsafed  to  you 
in  your  highest  moments.  For  they  were  your 
highest  moments,  simply  because  while  they 
lasted  you  had  risen  to  be  better  men.  Why 
did  you  not  remain  ever  what  you  were  then? 
Why  did  you  become  untrue  to  yourselves  ? 

You  were  untrue  to  yourselves  in  giving  your- 
selves up  again  to  the  outward  world,  and  ex- 
pecting from  it  pleasures  which  it  does  not  afford. 
You  deliberately  became  unfaithful  to  yourselves, 
because  you  cared  not  to  be  masters  of  yourselves  ; 
but  preferred  surrendering  the  mastery  to  things 
which  could  in  no  way  contribute  to  your  peace  of 
mind.  You  abandon  yourselves  to  excessive  care 
connected  with  your  outward  circumstances,  for- 
getting that  it  is  your  inward  condition  that  is  the 
chief  object  of  life,  and  that  when  this  is  not  what 
it  ought  to  be,  all  outward  honors,  all  comforts 
and  luxuries,  all  pomp  and  grandeur,  will  be  pow- 
erless to  make  you  happy.  Like  madmen,  you 
sacrifice  life  for  death,  peace  of  mind  for  constant 
anxiety,  cheerfulness  for  sadness,  the  conscious- 
ness of  innocence  for  pangs  of  conscience,  the 
pride  of  independence  for  the  shame  of  depend- 
ence, the  sense  of  security  for  never-ceasing  fears. 
Perhaps  you  have  often  sent  up  the  prayer: 
"  Give  me,  O  God,  a  pure  heart ;  and  let  thy 
Holy  Spirit  inspire  me."  But  no  sooner  was  the 
prayer  uttered  than  you  again  gave  way  to  anger 
against  your  brother,  than  you  again  hypocriti- 


A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  105 

cally  deceived  some  unsuspecting  person,  than 
you  again  allowed  a  sufferer  to  leave  you  with- 
out being  comforted,  than  you  again  began  to 
amass  money  by  unrighteous  means,  and  allowed 
jealousy  to  fill  your  heart  with  hatred  and  malice. 
And  what  have  you  hitherto  obtained  in  return 
for  your  many  anxieties  ?  Perhaps  physical  in- 
firmities, which  prevent  you  from  enjoying  what 
other  advantages  may  be  yours ;  perhaps  a  few 
more  possessions  than  previously,  but  perhaps, 
also,  fewer  joys  than  when  you  had  less  worldly 
goods ;  perhaps  a  post  of  honor  which  exposes 
you  to  malicious  attacks  of  envy,  and  heaps  upon 
you  responsibilities  and  cares.  Is  that  a  foretaste 
of  heaven?  Can  these  gains  bear  comparison 
with  the  happiness  you  enjoyed  in  those  higher 
moments,  when  you  possessed  none  of  these,  but 
when  you  were  pure  in  heart,  and  your  mind  was 
free  and  fearless  ? 

He  who  is  thoroughly  happy  within  himself 
covets  not  other  joys,  asks  for  nothing  more 
than  to  remain  forever  as  he  is.  If  outward  cir- 
cumstances make  man  happy,  why  then  is  he, 
even  after  he  has  attained  the  desired  end,  ever 
craving  for  something  better,  something  differ- 
ent? Why,  then,  is  he  always  pursuing  hap- 
piness as  the  child  pursues  the  glowing  colors  of 
the  rainbow,  without  ever  reaching  them  ? 

Pause,  wonder,  reflect  upon  the  heavenly  hours 
thou   hast  enjoyed  in  life,  and  ask  thyself  how 

5* 


106  A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN. 

they  came  to  thee.  Not  to  rank,  nor  riches,  nor 
fine  clothes,  nor  meat,  nor  drink,  didst  thou  owe 
them,  but  to  thy  pure  heart.  Thou  wert  a  better 
man  in  those  hours,  and  therefore  all  that  sur- 
rounded thee  was  better.  Abandon  the  mistaken 
road  towards  happiness,  and  strive  again  to  pos- 
sess that  which  alone  can  lead  thee  back  to  thy 
paradise. 

Live  with  God  in  childlike  purity.  Never  al- 
low thyself  to  be  too  much  absorbed  in  care  for 
outward  circumstances.  Do  thy  duty,  keep  thy 
conscience  clear;  for  all  else  trust  in  Him  who 
knows  best  what  is  good  for  us.  Root  out  thy 
faults  and  evil  tendencies ;  when  a  child  thou 
hadst  them  not,  and  therefore  thou  wert  happier 
then  than  now.  Fust  of  all  cast  from  thee  the 
desires  that  cause  thee  most  uneasiness ;  cor- 
rect, by  steadfast  perseverance,  those  defects  in 
thy  disposition  and  thy  conduct,  which  are  the 
chief  sources  of  disquietude  to  thee.  Man  has 
great,  nay,  incredible  power  over  himself,  if  he 
will  but  exert  it.  Think  not  of  gratifying  thy- 
self; but  consider  each  day  what  good  thou  canst 
do  to  others.  Demand  what  thou  hast  a  rightv 
way  do  injustice  to  others.  And  in  order  that 
to  ;  but,  on  the  other  side,  never  in  the  smallest^ 
thou  mayest  continue  to  improve,  study  earnest- 
ly the  spirit  and  precepts  of  Jesus.  In  these 
thou  wilt  discover  the  highest  wisdom,  and  from 
them  learn  the  way  back  into  thy  lost  paradise. 


A   FORETASTE   OF  HEAVEN.  107 

There  thou  wilt  find  thy  God  again,  and  even  in 
the  severest  trials  of  life,  an  inward  peace,  cheer- 
fulness, bliss,  of  which  no  mortal  can  ever  deprive 
thee.  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  God!" 

Merciful  and  eternal  God,  Love  inexhaustible, 
Father  of  the  universe,  my  Father  !  if  I  have 
but  thee,  all  that  life  may  bring  is  but  a  shadowy 
phantasm.  If  I  have  but  thee,  I  shall  pass  with- 
out fear  through  light  and  through  darkness,  and 
shall  find  my  way,  and  shall  not  falter,  though 
want  and  death  may  threaten.  If  I  have  but 
thee,  I  am  sufficiently  rich,  though  all  fail  me  that 
others  call  riches ;  I  am  sufficiently  exalted, 
though  all  the  world  look  down  upon  me ;  I  am 
strong  enough,  though  thousands  conspire  against 
me  ;  I  am  safe,  though  disasters  may  befall  me, 
and  all  my  earthly  possessions  be  lost.  If  I  have 
but  thee,  death  itself  cannot  rob  me  of  my  joy, 
should  it  even  tear  from  my  bleeding  heart  all  the 
beloved  souls  to  whom  I  am  attached.  Ah  !  death 
is  thy  angel  messenger,  he  brings  them  to  thee, 
and  in  the  bosom  of  thy  love  I  shall  find  them 
again.  If  I  have  but  thee,  I  possess  all  things  ! 
Amen. 


THE    WORLD    A    MIRROR    OF 
ETERNITY. 


The  Lord  is  King  !  he  reigns  forever ; 
The  Lord  is  God  !  he  ceaseth  never ; 

He  was,  he  e'er  shall  be,  he  is  : 
Who  shall  dare  change  what  he  commands  1 
The  universe  rests  in  his  hands,  — 

Tails  he  to  hold,  it  perishes ;  — 
Yet  still  unconscious  of  decay, 
The  globe  revolves  from  day  to  day  ; 
In  the  eternal  seas  of  air 
Floats  yet  this  earthly  ball,  so  seeming  fair. 

How  long,  ye  nations,  will  ye  try 
His  patience,  "  and  his  wrath  defy  "  ? 

Triflers  on  earth,  his  love  forgot, 
How  long  ere  yet  his  anger  burn,  — 
Omnipotent,  although  ye  spurn 

His  power,  and  comprehend  him  not,  — 
A  Father  and  a  Judge  alike, 
Though  merciful,  he  yet  can  strike ; 
The  earth  rests  only  on  his  will ! 
And  ye,  too,  scorners  ! — yet  delays  he  still. 

(1  Cor.  xiii.  12,  13.) 

OW  gloriously  does  not  the  God,  who 
beams  upon  us  from  the  heavenly 
revelations  of  Jesus,  harmonize  with 
the  wonderful  God  who  majestically 
reveals  himself  to' me  and  to  all  nations,  at  all 
periods    of    time,    in    the    varying    beauty   and 


THE  WORLD  A  MIRROR  OF  ETERNITY.    109 

grandeur  of  nature  !  Mysterious  and  grand  he 
appears  in  his  action  on  the  world  of  spirits. 
Mysterious  and  grand  in  the  order  of  the  myriads 
of  flaming  worlds,  which  move  in  their  eternally 
prescribed  orbits,  without  ever  diverging  from 
their  paths,  or  coming  into  collision.  Mercifully 
he  reigns  in  the  realm  of  immortal  spirits,  where 
his  call  to  happiness  penetrates  all  beings,  and  his 
justice  rules  ;  mercifully  in  the  sublunary  world, 
where  his  love  is  extended  even  to  the  lowliest 
creature. 

The  longer  I  consider  and  weigh  the  revelations 
of  the  Eternal  Son,  the  longer  I  dwell  upon  the 
spectacle  of  the  infinite  creation,  the  more  con- 
scious I  become  of  the  proximity  of  God,  the 
more  vividly  I  feel :  this  is  not  mere  mechanical 
activity.  In  all  the  forms  of  this  sublunary  world, 
through  all  the  play  of  the  hidden  spiritual  forces, 
there  is  revealed  a  will  full  of  almighty  power,  an 
almighty  power  full  of  wisdom,  a  wisdom  full  of 
holiness,  full  of  love,  —  and  this  is  God.  But  the 
nature  of  God  I  cannot  fathom.  A  God  whose 
nature  I  could  fathom  would  not  be  God,  for  even 
the  nature  of  my  own  soul  is  a  dark  riddle  to  me. 
Seek  not  to  know  wherein  consists  the  essence  of 
the  Highest  Being ;  for  the  essence  of  even  the 
meanest  creature  that  he  has  made  is  an  insoluble 
mystery  to  thee.  Audacious  mortal,  the  longer 
thou  gazest  at  the  dazzling  brightness  of  the  sun, 
the  more  it  blinds  thee  ! 


110  THE   WORLD 

Our  knowledge  here  on  earth  is  but  partial, 
said  St.  Paul,  the  wise  disciple  of  Jesus  ;  "  now 
we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly,  but  then  we  see 
face  to  face  ;  now  I  know  in  part,  but  then  I 
shall  know  even  as  I  also  am  known.  And  now 
abideth  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three  ;  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  charity."  (1  Cor.  xiii.  12, 
13.) 

Yea,  this  world,  which  is  for  a  short  time  as- 
signed to  us  as  a  habitation,  is  to  me  as  a  darkened 
mirror  of  eternity.  I  see  here  in  part  that  which 
I  shall  one  day  behold  with  delight  in  its  wonder- 
ful totality.  What  I  hope  here,  will  there  be 
fulfilled ;  and  that  which  is  here  but  an  obscure 
foreshadowing,  will  there  surround  me  as  a  bright 
reality.  And  the  God  of  Life,  whose  glory  I  be- 
hold here  only  in  reflection,  will  be  revealed  to 
me  in  full  effulgence,  when  my  immortal  spirit 
shall  be  immersed  in  him  and  in  his  bliss. 

The  world  is  to  me  a  darkened  mirror  of 
eternity.  That  which  I  experience  in  detached 
fragments  in  this  life,  betrays  to  me  what  I  shall 
one  day  experience  in  a  more  perfect  life.  For 
in  the  divine  creation  all  is  unbroken  unity  ;  all 
tilings  are  connected  ;  there  is  no  interruption  of 
continuity.  In  the  chain  of  the  infinite  universe 
there  are  no  missing  links. 

The  here  and  the  hereafter,  life  and  eternity, 
are  but  one,  form  but  one  whole,  without  inter- 
ruption.    Were  my  eyesight  sufficiently  strong,  I 


A   MIRROR   OF  ETERNITY.  m 

should  discover  in  the  minute  seed,  which  a  single 
blade  of  grass  suffices  to  conceal,  the  gigantic  tree 
which  at  the  end  of  a  hundred  years  will  over- 
shadow a  whole  valley.  In  everything  there  is 
progress,  development. 

God  has  diffused  throughout  the  wide  universe 
a  vital  force,  a  secret  power  of  animation.  This 
all-animating  power  manifests  itself  on  every  side, 
yet  how  rarely  do  we  notice  it !  All  things  are 
imbued  with  it,  and  it  is  constantly  renovating 
the  form  of  whatever  is  undergoing  dissolution. 
It  acts  with  wonderful  energy  in  the  innermost 
germ  of  every  seed,  draws  nourishment  from  all 
the  elements,  attracts  towards  itself  the  crumbling; 
dust  of  ages,  spreads  fresh  life  through  it,  and 
produces  a  new  plant,  whose  beauty  charms  us 
in  spring,  whose  radiant  colors  dazzle  our  eyes, 
whose  fragrance  delights  us,  or  whose  fruits  afford 
us  delicious  nourishment. 

This  vital  force  resides  in  every  part  of  animal 
nature,  so  that  the  part  is  hardly  separated  from 
the  whole,  before,  in  the  midst  of  decay,  new  life 
begins  to  develop  itself. 

Thus  our  earthly  body  likewise  is  imbued  with 
this  vital  force.  In  every  minute  part  of  our 
bodies,  also,  the  wonderful  power  diffused  through- 
out the  universe  is  at  work.  It  is  placed  at  the 
service  of  our  spirit  as  long  as  the  latter  dwells 
in  the  body.  For  the  benefit  of  the  spirit  it  ani- 
mates the  delicate  nerve  tissues,  and  causes  the 


112  THE    WORLD 

blood  to  flow  through  the  labyrinthine  passages 
of  the  arteries  and  veins ;  for  the  benefit  of  the 
spirit  it  draws  nourishment  from  the  elements, 
brightens  the  eye,  sucks  in  the  fragrant  breath  of 
the  flowers,  and  carries  the  tones  of  the  outer 
world  into  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  soul. 

When,  however,  that  which  is  immortal  within 
us  outstrips  the  earthly  coil ;  when  the  thinking, 
freely  willing,  spontaneous  power  within  us,  winch 
is  subject  to  special  laws  of  its  own,  and  which  we 
call  our  spirit,  our  real  self,  takes  leave  of  the 
body,  —  then  the  vital  power  ceases  to  perform 
its  functions,  and  the  body  perishes. 

But,  in  the  same  manner  as  these  forces  and 
life-impulses  always  find  new  materials  which 
they  work  into  new  forms,  so  also  the  noblest  of 
all  forces,  the  immortal  spirit,  called  to  freedom, 
to  bliss,  and  to  eternal  endurance,  doth  clothe 
itself  hi  a  new  vesture.  It  neither  sleeps  nor 
dies  when  its  first  body  passes  away ;  and  it  will 
not  fail  to  find  a  new  veil  in  which  to  shroud  it- 
self, when  called,  perhaps,  to  act  more  gloriously, 
more  perfectly,  in  the  sphere  of  eternal  existence. 
It  must  be  so,  —  for  naught  perishes.  What  is 
death  ?  Nothing  more  than  transformation.  The 
dead  flower  is  transformed  into  dust,  which  in 
time  becomes  parts  of  other  flowers.  And  in  like 
manner  as  the  blind  life-force,  acting  according 
to  the  eternal  laws  of  God,  continues  without 
ceasing,  so  also  the  free  spirit  of  man,  when  re- 


A   MIRROR   OF  ETERNITY.  113 

lieved  from  its  earthly  coil.  Thus  this  world  is 
to  us  as  a  darkened  mirror  of  eternity. 

What  eye  can  measure  the  boundless  universe 
of  God  ?  The  strongest  telescope  of  the  astron- 
omer fails  to  discover  its  limits.  Beyond  all  the 
stars  or  worlds  which  we  discern  through  Ins  hi- 
strument,  we  behold  the  faint  gleams  of  the  pale 
light  of  still  more  distant  and  unknown  realms 
of  space,  which  may  be  the  reflection  of  still 
remoter  stars,  located  in  parts  of  the  infinite 
universe  which  will  ever  remain  hidden  to  man. 

The  wonderful  rapidity  with  which  light  travels 
has  been  calculated;  the  relative  distances  have 
been  measured  between  the  sun  and  the  planets 
that  revolve  round  him,  and  which  borrow  then' 
light  from  him ;  but  to  express  the  relative  dis- 
tances of  the  greater  number  of  stellar  systems, 
words  and  numbers  fail  us.  Stars  which  we  see 
glimmering  in  the  heavens  because  their  light  is 
still  travelling  towards  us  through  immeasurable 
space,  may  have  been  long  extinguished.  New 
suns  may  have  come  into  existence  at  inexpressi- 
ble distances  from  us,  which  we  do  not  see,  be- 
cause the  light  from  them  has  not  reached  our 
eye.  So  immense  is  the  universe!  —  Nay,  not 
the  universe,  but  merely  the  small  part  of  it 
which  we  can  discover  from  our  earth  ;  and  this 
small  part,  according  to  the  suppositions  of  the 
most  distinguished  astronomers,  is  far  from  the 
glorious  centre  round  which  the  worlds  revolve. 


114  THE   WORLD 

The  earth,  the  sun,  the  myriad  stars,  float  in  the 
great  ocean  of  space,  and  revolve  round  a  greater 
sun  which,  however,  remains  hidden  from  our 
mortal  ken.  Each  hour  the  globe  we  inhabit 
moves  fifteen  thousand  miles,  and  each  day  three 
hundred  and  fifty-five  thousand  miles,  onward 
in  space.  Hourly  and  daily  the  sun,  with  the 
eleven  planets  (worlds  like  our  own),  and  eigh- 
teen moons  (all  of  which  cannot  be  seen  with 
the  naked  eye)  belonging  to  his  system,  in  like 
manner  move  along  with  inconceivable  rapidity, 
without  our  being  able  to  perceive  it.  So  im- 
measurable are  the  distances  that  separate  these 
worlds  belonging  to  one  and  the  same  system, 
that,  even  after  a  century's  observation,  we  are 
hardly  able  to  discern  their  motion  round  another 
—  to  us  unknown  —  sun. 

And  these  numberless  spheres,  almost  all  of 
which  are  of  infinitely  greater  magnitude  than  the 
globe  we  inhabit,  are  intimately  connected  with 
each  other,  in  spite  of  the  enormous  distances 
that  separate  them.  Similar  to  each  other  in 
form,  they  mutually  dispense  to  each  other  the 
light  which  they  irradiate,  and  which  is  perhaps 
the  same  as  that  which  flashes  from  the  thunder- 
cloud, and  which  beams  so  brightly  in  the  Aurora 
Borealis. 

Ah !  what  is  the  finest  masterpiece  from  the 
hand  of  the  first  human  artist,  compared  with 
the  great,  the  wonderful,  the  boundless  universe 


A   MIRROR   OF  ETERNITY.  H5 

whereon  God  is  enthroned  !  And  all  these  worlds 
form  a  unity,  —  are  the  intimately  connected, 
closely  related  parts  of  a  continuous  whole  ! 
From  immeasurable  distances  the  one  acts  upon 
the  other.  The  moon  moves  our  seas  to  ebb  and 
flood,  and  influences  the  weather  on  our  globe ; 
and  in  like  manner  our  earth  is  influenced  by  the 
sun,  which  holds  in  dependence  upon  itself  all 
the  spheres  floating  in  space  at  distances  of  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  miles  from  it.  In  virtue  of 
the  as  yet  undiscovered,  and  probably  ever  to  us 
undiscoverable,  matter  that  connects  the  countless 
worlds,  they  are  constantly  influencing  each  other. 
Thus  all  form  but  one  whole ;  all  are  connected 
by  the  Almighty  Hand  of  Divine  Majesty !  And 
thus  this  world,  little  as  I  know  of  it,  is  to  me  as 
a  darkened  mirror  of  eternity.  In  this  boundless 
ocean  of  the  universe,  wherein  nothing  is  ever 
annihilated,  I  also  dwell.  Like  all  that  belongs 
to  it,  I  can  never  cease  to  exist  in  it.  I  also  am 
an  inhabitant  of  the  Divine  edifice,  and  the  All- 
Holy  One,  on  whose  breath  hang  myriads  of  suns, 
I  may  call  Father  !  My  Father  !  Here,  as  there, 
I  am  within  the  bounds  of  eternity !  There  is  no 
difference,  for  all  is  one  !  The  hours,  the  years 
which  pass  over  my  head  on  this  earth,  are  parts 
of  eternity,  drops  in  its  ocean,  in  no  way  separate 
from  it ! 

When  I  learn  from  the   observations  of   dis- 
tinguished astronomers  and  natural  philosophers, 


116  THE   WORLD 

that  the  size  of  the  sun  is  more  than  one  million 
and  a  half  greater  than  that  of  our  globe ;  when 
I  learn  that  the  sun  probably  consists  of  earths  and 
rocks  similar  to  those  of  our  sphere,  that  moun- 
tains and  valleys  really  appear  upon  its  surface, 
that  it  is  not,  as  it  seems,  a  glowing  ball  of  fire, 
but  that  it  is  surrounded  by  an  indescribable  lumi- 
nous vapor  in  the  same  manner  as  our  earth  is 
surrounded  by  clouds  ;  or  when  I  learn,  that  even 
tolerably  strong  telescopes  show  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  moon  entire  ranges  of  strangely  formed 
mountains  and  valleys,  interspersed  with  dark 
spots,  supposed  to  be  oceans  and  plains  ;  or  when 
I  hear  that  in  the  sphere  which  we  call  our  morn- 
ing and  evening  star,  mountains  have  been  discov- 
ered, which  far  surpass  in  altitude  those  of  our 
earth,  — ■  I  am  seized  with  reverential  awe,  and  my 
mind  is  lost  in  amazement,  at  the  incomprehensible 
vastness,  at  the  wonderful  construction  of  the  uni- 
verse, in  which  I  perceive  so  many  globes  like  our 
own,  and  probably  —  nay,  certainly  —  inhabited 
like  our  own  by  living  beings.  Beings,  the 
noblest  of  whom  acknowledge  and  praise  God,  — 
ah  !  perhaps  more  truly  and  worthily  than  I  do. 

Then  I  see  the  world  as  in  a  darkened  mirror  ; 
then  arise  in  me  feelings  never  before  experi- 
enced ;  then  I  become  conscious  that  I  belong, 
not  alone  to  this  earth,  to  this  fleeting,  insimiin- 
cant  life,  but  also  to  other  kindred  worlds  ;  that  I 
have   brothers,    more   perfect   and   more    happy, 


A   MIRROR   OF  ETERNITY.  117 

dwelling  in  immeasurably  distant  regions  of  the 
grand  universe.  Language  fails  me.  My  thoughts 
are  confounded.  I  seem  to  have  a  presentiment 
of  the  infinite.  I  stand  in  the  midst  of  eternity. 
I  am  immersed  in  its  awful  depths  ! 

What  manifold  forms  of  life  and  existence  may 
there  not  be  in  those  great  worlds,  that  roll  so 
majestically  through  space  !  What  an  ascending 
scale,  of  ever  greater  perfection  and  happiness, 
of  which  I,  poor  mortal,  cannot  form  even  a  dis- 
tant conception !  Even  here  on  earth  I  behold 
and  admire  the  manifold  differences  which  prevail 
in  great  and  small  things.  Even  here  I  behold 
strange  inequalities.  What  variety  of  mental 
capacity  and  of  power  of  enjoyment,  even  among 
animals  !  What  an  inferior  creature  is  not  the 
mussel  clinging  to  the  rock  on  the  sea-shore, 
when  compared  to  the  May-fly  rising  on  golden 
wings  through  the  balmy  air  of  spring !  What 
an  exalted  position  does  not  the  sagacious  ele- 
phant, the  intelligent  courser,  the  dog,  the  faith- 
ful friend  of  man,  maintain  at  the  side  of  other 
individual  species  of  the  animal  race  !  And  what 
is  the  instinct  of  animals  compared  to  the  reason 
of  man !  And  can  we  suppose  that,  after  calling 
man  into  being,  the  creative  power  of  the  Creator 
was  exhausted  ?  Can  we  suppose  that  man  is  the 
most  perfect  of  created  beings  in  the  universe, 
because  he  is  the  highest  and  most  glorious  being 
on   this   globe  ?     What   is   this   earth   of    ours  ? 


118  THE   WORLD 


Why,  one  of  the  smallest  stars  in  the  firmament. 
And  even  our  sun,  though  one  and  a  half  million 
times  larger  than  the  earth,  is  but  one  of  the 
smallest  when  compared  to  the  suns  which,  placed 
at  distances  from  us  that  no  mortal  can  calculate, 
yet  appear  as  stars  of  the  first  magnitude.  If  I 
may  be  allowed  to  draw  conclusions  from  the 
comparative  magnitudes  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
O,  then,  man  must  be  one  of  the  meanest  and 
most  insignificant  of  divinely  created  beings ; 
then  there  exist  in  the  infinite  creation,  in  the 
abodes  of  eternity,  beings  of  far  higher  nature 
than  ours,  before  whom  we  should  appear  but  as 
the  dust  at  our  feet ;  and  whose  wisdom,  holiness, 
perfection,  happiness,  exceeds  ours  as  much  as 
our  wisdom,  holiness,  happiness,  exceeds  that  of 
the  lowly  worm  which  we  unconsciously  trample 
under  foot. 

Yea,  there  are  creatures,  of  higher  nature  than 
myself,  far  more  holy  and  perfect,  who,  like  my- 
self, pray  to  the  highest  of  all  beings.  Revela- 
tion mentions  them  as  angels,  as  the  exalted  spirits 
of  heaven,  as  cherubim  and  seraphim.  There 
are  worlds  aboye  ours.  There  are  inhabitants 
of  the  boundless  universe,  in  comparison  with 
whom  I  am  a  mere  nothing.  And  had  no  revela- 
tion taught  me  so,  I  should  have  learnt  it  from 
what  I  observe  even  on  this  earth.  Yea,  verily, 
the  world  is  to  me  a  mirror  of  eternity ;  and 
though  but  a  darkened  mirror,  the  images  I  be- 


A   MIRROR   OF  ETERNITY.  H9 

hold  in  it  are  mighty  enough  to  stir  up  my  inner- 
most soul. 

Only  a  darkened  mirror,  and  yet  how  much  do 
I  not  behold  in  it !  My  knowledge  here  below  is 
but  partial,  yet  how  elevating  even  in  its  limited 
form  !  When  my  mind  loses  itself  in  the  infini- 
tude of  divine  creations,  I  feel  my  insignificance, 
my  nothingness,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  a 
sweet  pride  and  consolation  come  to  me  in  the 
thought,  that  I  also  am  worthy  of  God,  the  Crea- 
tor of  the  universe  ;  that  something  divine  lives 
and  thinks  within  me  ! 

Alas  for  me,  when  from  this  sublime  height, 
where  I  seem  to  have  a  presentiment  of  God,  I 
look  down  upon  my  past  life  !  Alas  for  me,  what 
have  I  been  ?  What  have  I  done  ?  The  sor- 
rows I  have  known,  have  they  been  nearer  those 
of  the  angel,  or  of  the  brute  ?  Have  I  striven 
more  to  secure  the  sublime  and  intense  gratifica- 
tion which  the  seraph  enjoys  in  the  consciousness 
of  his  perfection  and  holiness,  or  the  sensual 
gratifications  of  my  earthly  body,  which,  are  com- 
mon to  the  lower  animals  as  well  ? 

Blushing,  I  cast  down  my  eyes  before  the  in- 
corruptible judge  within  me  ;  before  the  omnis- 
cience of  the  All-holy  One.  Fain  would  I  hide 
myself,  —  hide  the  whole  course  of  my  life,  that 
no  eye  might  behold  it !  For  I  have  looked  mto 
the  darkened  mirror  of  eternity,  but  failed  to  be 
impressed  by  what  I  saw.      I  had  an  intuitive 


120  THE   WORLD 

perception  that  a  higher  destiny  awaited  me,  and 
that  I  must  consecrate  myself  to  it  during  my 
earthly  life ;  but  I  did  not  raise  myself  up  into 
the  sphere  of  the  angels,  but  sank  down  into  the 
slough  of  animal  life.  I  labored  for  my  body 
only ;  took  heed  for  naught  but  meat  and  drink ; 
stretched  out  my  hands  with  childlike  folly  after 
pomp  and  earthly  glory,  evanescent  as  dust ;  I  neg- 
lected myself,  lived  not  for  my  soul,  my  real  self, 
but  for  my  perishable  body,  which  is  mine  only 
for  a  time.  I  looked  into  the  darkened  imao-e  of 
eternity;  but,  like  the  animal  whose  drooping 
head  allows  it  only  to  gaze  on  the  earth,  I  never 
lifted  my  face  towards  heaven.  The  applause  of 
men,  so  contemptible  and  so  little  enduring,  I 
prized  more  highly  than  the  consciousness  that  I 
was  making  myself  worthy  of  God  and  my  eternal 
destiny.  Ah !  how  unutterably  foolish  I  have 
been!  how  despicable  I  seem  to  myself!  "Be 
perfect,  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect !  '; 
So  saidst  thou,  my  holy,  my  Divine  Teacher, 
Jesus  Christ,  who  filled  the  spiritual  world  with 
thy  light,  which  was  not  of  this  world.  Woe  is 
me  !  I  heard  thy  voice,  O  faithful  Shepherd  of 
men,  but  I  did  not  follow  its  call ! 

Alas  !  like  my  knowledge,  so  was  also  my  will- 
ing but  partial  and  imperfect.  But  is  it  ever  to 
remain  so  ?  Shall  I  become  still  more  imperfect 
than  I  am?  Shall  I  be  precipitated  from  the 
place  which   I   now  hold   in  the  scale   of  God- 


A   MIRROR   OF  ETERNITY.  121 

created  beings  ?  Eternity  !  Eternity  !  In  thee 
dwells  Eternal  Love  ;  but  woe  to  me,  sinner  that 
I  am,  in  thee  dwells  also  the  Eternal  Judge 
whose  justice  deals  with  us  according  to  our 
deserts ! 

Console  me,  ye  lovely  daughters  of  Heaven, 
Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity !  Accompany  me 
along  the  paths  which  I  may  still  have  to  trav- 
erse. Strengthen  me,  O  Faith  in  God !  and 
raise  my  mind  above  earthly  cares  and  earthly 
wishes  up  to  its  true  destination.  Save  me  wdien 
my  soul  vacillates  between  time  and  eternity, 
when  it  is  tempted  to  prefer  the  animal  to  the 
Divine.  Save  me  when  passion  is  nigh  mastering 
me,  and  when  sensuality  threatens  to  carry  the 
victory  over  principle  and  duty.  And  thou,  O 
Hope,  divine  gift  of  God,  promise  held  out  by 
the  lips  of  Jesus  himself,  abandon  me  not  in  the 
most  anxious  hours  of  life  !  And  when  I  sacri- 
fice everything  for  the  sake  of  righteousness  and 
the  purity  of  my  soul,  should  I  be  poor  and  for- 
saken because  of  my  virtue,  and  become  a  laugh- 
ing-stock to  men,  —  O  then,  Hope  in  Eternity 
and  Mercy,  do  not  thou  forsake  me  ! 

And  thou,  loveliest  of  all  virtues,  parent  and 
source  of  every  spiritual  perfection,  Charity,  love 
to  God,  and  love  to  man,  penetrate  me  so  that 
in  thee  I  may  live  and  breathe  and  have  my 
being.  Only  he  who  dwells  in  love,  dwells  in 
God ;    only  to  him  who  dwells  in  love,   who   is 

6 


122   THE  WORLD  A  MIRROR  OF  ETERNITY. 


thoroughly  imbued  with  love,  is  eternity  opened 
here  on  earth ;  only  he  enjoys  here  below  al- 
ready a  foretaste  of  its  bliss.  For  he  who  dwell- 
eth  and  ruleth  in  eternity  is  the  all-animating 
Love,  is  God ! 


THE    EXISTENCE    OF   ANGELS. 


Alone  by  reason's  glimmering  light 

We  dimly  search  out  Nature's  plan, 
But  all  to  Thee  was  clear  and  bright 

Long  ere  creation's  dawn  began  ; 
Together  linked,  some  scattered  beams 

Of  truth  our  weary  toil  may  claim, 
But  to  thine  eyes,  these  fitful  gleams 

Glow  like  a  golden  sea  of  flame. 

The  countless  hosts  that  throng  each  sphere, 

Each  blooming  flower,  each  hidden  gem, 
Revealed  before  thy  glance  appear, 

And  by  their  names  thou  callest  them. 
Thou  piercest  to  the  germ  within, 

Doubts,  dangers,  ne'er  can  'scape  thine  eye  ; 
Thou  knowest  all  that  is,  has  been, 

And  can  be  in  futurity. 

Such  glorious  knowledge  is  in  thee, 

I  tremble  at  the  wondrous  height : 
The  wondrous  depth  o'erpowers  me, 

As  I  stand  praying  in  thy  sight. 
I  faint,  I  falter,  God  !     Thy  ways 

Are  measureless ;  unless  thou  teach, 
Not  even  the  archangels'  gaze 

Can  sound  their  depth,  their  height  can  reach. 

(Matt,  xviii.  10.) 

T  a  very  early  period  already  the  hu- 
man race    showed  a  tendency  to  be- 
lieve in  the  existence  of  higher  beings, 
who,  though  created  by  God,  were  in- 
finitely superior  to  man.     This  belief  was  very 


124         THE   EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

natural.  Because,  the  better  acquainted  men 
became  with  the  various  parts  of  creation,  the 
more  convinced  they  were  that  in  nature  there 
are  no  gaps ;  that  everything  embraced  in  it 
forms  one  great  continuous  chain,  in  which  the 
lowest  link,  i.  e.  the  most  imperfect  being,  is 
connected  with  the  highest,  though  only  through 
innumerable  other  links,  gradually  rising  in  the 
scale  of  perfection ;  that  between  the  broken 
fragment  of  lifeless  rock  and  man  lies  the  long 
progressive  series  of  plants  and  animals ;  that 
the  lifeless  stone  first  touches  in  its  crystalline 
form  the  lowest  family  of  plants ;  that  certain 
plants,  on  the  other  hand,  approach  very  near  to 
animal  life,  such  as  it  is  seen  in  the  water  poly- 
pus and  the  coral ;  that  in  the  endless  scale  of 
living  beings  the  less  perfect  is  always  followed 
by  the  more  perfect,  until  at  length  the  most 
perfect  animal  touches  the  least  perfect,  most 
animal-like  race  of  human  beings,  who  are  only 
raised  above  the  sagacity  of  the  dog,  the  ele- 
phant, or  the  ape,  in  as  far  as  a  faint  spark  of 
reason  glimmers  within  them. 

On  observing  this  remarkable  and  regular  gra- 
dation of  beings,  the  question  would  naturally 
arise  in  man,  Though  I  may  be  able  to  discern  all 
that  lies  below  me,  does  it  follow  that  there  is 
naught  above  me  but  what  I  know  ?  The  most 
sagacious  among  animals  are  indeed  aware  of  my 
existence,  but  can  they  form  to  themselves  even 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         125 

a  distant  conception  of  what  it  is  to  be  a  man,  or 
of  what  man  can  acquire  and  perform  through 
means  of  his  mental  capacities  ?  And  can  I  ven- 
ture to  presume  that  the  most  perfect  man  touches 
immediately  in  the  scale  of  beings  the  Deity  who 
rules  the  universe  ? 

Impossible  !  the  deeper  I  look  into  God's  crea- 
tion, the  more  his  glory  and  his  boundless  power 
are  made  manifest  to  me,  the  more  vividly  do  I 
feel  how  infinitely  inferior  I  am  to  the  All-High, 
how  far  I  am  removed  from  him.  And  can  I 
suppose  that  the  immense  interval  that  separates 
man  from  the  Power  that  rules  the  universe  is 
left  unoccupied ;  that  the  continuity  of  nature 
which  I  observe  wherever  my  mind  can  pene- 
trate, has  here  been  suddenly  interrupted;  that 
between  God  and  man  there  is  naught  but  an 
infinite  desert  ?     This  is  inconceivable  ! 

In  like  manner  as  in  the  planetary  system 
smaller  moons  revolve  round  the  earth  ;  in  like 
manner  as  our  planet  and  other  planets  revolve 
round  the  sun  with  other  moons  ;  in  like  manner 
as  the  sun,  accompanied  by  all  the  planets  and 
their  moons,  and  probably  together  with  many 
other  suns  which  we  call  fixed  stars,  moves  in 
space  around  an  infinitely  greater  sun  which  our 
eyes  have  never  beheld ;  in  like  manner  as  this 
again,  with  all  the  surrounding  suns,  planets,  and 
moons,  sweeps  around  a  still  more  glorious  centre, 
in  periods  of  time  for  which  human  language  has 


126  THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

no  numbers  ;  —  so,  also,  there  must  be  placed 
between  human  nature  and  the  Deity  myriads 
of  higher  beings,  supermundane  natures,  nearer 
akin  to  God  than  poor  mortal  man  !  In  ordinary 
language  we  comprise  all  these  beings  under  the 
name  of  angels,  but  we  know  not  wherein  consists 
their  higher  nature,  nor  do  we  know  the  number 
of  grades  which  there  may  be  between  the  least 
perfect  angel  who  is  nearest  akin  to  the  most 
perfect  man,  and  the  most  glorious  of  created 
beings,  who  enjoy  unutterable  bliss,  feeling  them- 
selves in  close  proximity  to  God. 

The  Holy  Scriptures  also  speak  of  the  existence 
of  these  lovely  natures,  without  affording  any 
idea  of  what  they  are  and  wherein  their  advan- 
tages consist.  The  Scriptures  only  mention  their 
superior  happiness,  and  say  that  they  are  the 
servants  of  the  Most  High,  the  doers  of  his  bid- 
ding. Jesus  Christ,  also,  who  withdrew  the  cur- 
tain from  as  much  of  the  sanctuary  of  the  super- 
terrestrial  world  as  he  thought  the  eyes  of  mor- 
tals could  bear  to  behold,  —  Jesus,  also,  speaks 
of  the  higher  spirits  which  intervene  between 
us  and  the  Most  High.  But  he  only  speaks  of 
them  as  beings  standing  nearer  the  throne  of 
the  Eternal  Father  than  we,  and  taking  a  loving 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  human  spirits,  in  like 
manner  as  kind-hearted  mortals  often  constitute 
themselves  friends  and  protectors  of  beings  infe- 
rior to  themselves.     (Matt,  xviii.  10.) 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         127 

Now,  although  it  would  be  vain  labor  to  en- 
deavor to  form  a  conception  of  the  nature  and 
happiness  of  the  higher  spirits,  it  is  nevertheless 
an  interesting  occupation  for  our  thoughts  to  dwell 
upon  what  we  know  of  the  spiritual  in  this  earthly 
existence,  and  to  draw  thence  conclusions  as  to 
the  spirits  that  rank  above  us.  For  in  the  world 
that  we  know,  we  find  as  great  variety  in  the 
spiritual  forces  or  invisible  powers  as  in  the 
material  things.  Among  such  spiritual  forces  or 
essences,  the  existence  of  which  we  know  only 
through  their  effects,  we  must  indeed  count  not 
only  human  spirits  and  animal  souls,  but  also 
those  powers  which  we  usually  denominate  blind 
forces  of  nature,  and  which  dwell  in  all  things, 
not  only  in  the  animal  and  in  the  plant,  but  in 
stone,  in  water,  in  fire,  and  in  all  elementary 
substances. 

Is  not  heat  a  special  power  which  expands  and 
changes  everything  that  is  brought  within  its 
influence  ?  Is  not  light  a  special  power,  which, 
while  stimulating  our  eyes,  speeds  on  in  all  direc- 
tions in  straight  lines  and  with  inconceivable 
rapidity  ?  Who  has  not  beheld  with  wonder  the 
mysterious  power  of  the  loadstone,  which  it  com- 
municates to  iron  ?  It  works  according  to  eternal 
laws  peculiar  to  itself.  The  magnet  attracts  to- 
ward itself  light  iron  materials  from  a  certain  dis- 
tance  ;  and  the  iron  needle  rubbed  with  loadstone 
ever  points    one    of   its  extremities,  and  always 


128  THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

the  same  one,  towards  the  northern  quarter  of 
the  globe.  In  consequence  hereof  it  becomes  the 
trusty  and  unerring  guide  of  the  seafarer  during 
the  storms  that  drive  him  out  of  his  track  on  the 
ocean,  and  also  of  the  miner,  who  labors  deep 
down  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  far  from  the 
light  of  day. 

Is  not  that  strange  something  which  manifests 
itself  as  lightning  in  the  clouds  of  air,  and  as  a 
spark  emitted  by  the  coat  of  various  animals  when 
stroked,  —  which  betrays  its  existence  in  certain 
fishes  of  the  sea  by  a  violent  shock,  and  which 
men  of  science  call  forth  by  friction  from  various 
substances  in  the  form  of  a  flash  of  lightninff,  or 
of  a  tremendous  shock,  —  is  not  this  a  peculiar 
power  ? 

All  these  and  many  other  forces  of  nature  are, 
in  a  manner,  spiritual,  —  that  is  to  say,  they  are 
present  in  the  various  bodies,  though  impercep- 
tible to  our  senses,  until  called  forth  by  certain 
circumstances.  Then  they  reveal  themselves  by 
some  change  produced  in  the  bodies,  and  our 
senses  take  cognizance  of  their  presence.  In  like 
manner  the  spiritual  power  of  man  remains  hid- 
den, until  revealed  in  word  and  action. 

These  blind  forces  of  nature  are  diffused  through 
all  matter.  They  work  for,  against,  and  with 
each  other.  They  fill  the  air  and  every  field  of 
space.  Through  them  only  we  obtain  cognizance 
of  the  existence  of  the  stars.     They  are  in  con- 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         129 

sequence  spread  through  the  boundless  ocean  of 
all  creation ;  lifeless,  that  is,  imperceptible  in 
themselves,  and  only  active  and  vivid  when 
brought  into  connection  with  certain  bodies,  just 
as  the  spirit  of  man  only  manifests  its  existence 
when  united  with  a  body. 

We  call  the  effects  produced  by  these  hidden 
forces  natural  phenomena.  We,  as  well  as  every 
animal,  every  stone,  every  plant,  are  imbued  with 
this  spiritual  something,  without  knowing  what  it 
is  in  itself,  and  how  it  works.  It  remains  ever 
hidden  beneath  the  play  of  its  phenomena,  in  like 
manner  as  the  spirit  of  man  is  unknown  to  itself, 
but  only  learns  from  its  effects  on  the  body,  or  its 
action  through  the  body,  that  it  is  present. 

Finally,  all  that  we  know  about  these  blind 
forces  of  nature  is,  that  their  influence  contributes 
greatly  to  maintain  the  life  of  plants,  and  also  the 
mere  vegetable  life  of  animals  and  men.  It  is 
they  who  give  heat  and  color  to  our  blood,  and 
who  suffuse  the  flowers  with  varied  tints.  It  is 
they  who  in  the  dark  caverns  of  the  earth  form 
various  metals  and  minerals,  and  transform  the 
latter  into  regular  crystals. 

Nevertheless  all  these  forces  together  are  in- 
capable of  producing  a  single  blade  of  grass,  with 
its  fibres,  its  cells,  its  air-valves  and  spiral  tubes. 
The  blade  of  grass  only  comes  into  existence 
through  means  of  a  seed  of  its  species.  In  this 
seed  alone  lies  the  possibility  of  the  future  plant 

6*  I 


130         THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

with  all  its  forms,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  acorn  is 
the  germ  of  the  future  majestic  oak. 

But  what  is  it  that  develops  itself  so  beautifully 
and  wonderfully  in  and  with  this  germ  ?  What 
is  it  that  forms  out  of  the  volatile  substances  bor- 
rowed from  earth,  water,  and  air,  marvellously 
regular  tubes,  valves,  veins,  fruits,  down,  leaves, 
roots,  all  organized  with  perfect  wisdom  ?  What 
is  it  that  produces  in  human  and  animal  bodies, 
bone,  blood,  sinews,  and  nerves  ;  that  regulates 
the  internal  parts,  makes  the  blood  flow  according 
to  laws  of  its  own,  and  establishes  the  relative 
position  of  each  part  to  the  whole  ?  The  human 
spirit  dwells  in  the  body  without  knowing  what 
is  passing  within  it,  or  how  it  is  that  everything 
moves  within  it  according  to  rational  laws. 

Here  there  is  evidently  something  more  than 
the  mere  blind  natural  forces,  such  as  magnetism, 
light,  and  heat.  Here  is  a  higher  power,  which, 
though  still  not  self-conscious,  and  still  following 
blindly  the  laws  of  the  Creator,  yet  already  builds 
up  instruments  for  definite  purposes.  I  call  this 
more  exalted  and  powerful  something,  the  vital 
force. 

This  vital  force  — :  which  develops  the  bodies 
of  men,  animals,  and  plants,  which  builds  and  sus- 
tains according  to  eternal  laws  laid  down  by  the 
Creator  —  is  totally  different  from  the  simple 
blind  powers  of  nature.  A  flint-rock  will  never 
become  a  rose-bush,  the  seed-pods  of  a  fruit-tree 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         131 

will  never  grow  into  gold.  Each  remains  after 
its  kind  what  it  is,  and  the  vital  power  develops 
itself  according  to  the  laws  of  creation.  In  like 
manner  as  it  draws  towards  itself,  and  transmutes 
earthly  materials  for  the  constr action  of  the  bodies 
of  plants,  animals,  and  men ;  so  also  it  uses,  as  it 
were,  for  the  completion  of  its  purpose,  all  the 
ethereal  or  spiritual  substances,  i.  e.  the  simple 
powers  of  nature  alluded  to  above.  It  uses  these, 
however,  only  as  means,  and  thus  proves  that  it  is 
a  higher  power  than  they. 

The  connection  between  the  vital  power  and 
the  natural  forces  is,  however,  so  intimate,  that 
the  former,  failing  the  aid  of  the  latter,  remains 
inactive.  If  heat  and  light  be  not  admitted,  the 
vital  force  in  the  vegetable  germ  cannot  develop 
its  activity,  cannot  make  use  of  its  instruments 
above  and  beneath  the  earth,  to  gather  up  new 
materials. 

Thus  we  recognize  in  the  realm  of  creation 
known  to  us  two  kinds  of  spiritual  essences  :  the 
blind  powers  of  nature,  and  the  true  life-power  in 
plants  and  animals.  But  the  power  which  calls 
.forth  life,  or  rather,  which  in  itself  constitutes 
that  which  in  plants  and  animals  we  call  life,  is 
as  little  self-conscious  as  is  the  force  called  heat. 
What  does  the  growing  hair  on  our  heads,  what 
does  our  body  with  all  its  limbs,  know  about  it- 
self, except  through  the  activity  of  the  indwelling 
soul  ? 


132  THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

The  plant  lias  life,  so  has  the  animal ;  bnt  the 
latter  has  also  a  soul,  that  is  to  say,  possesses  an 
innate  power  of  perception,  and  of  judgment  to 
a  certain  extent,  and  likewise  a  power  of  feeling 
hatred  and  affection,  anger  and  joy,  desire  and 
repugnance.  Animals  have  also  the  power  of 
willing ;  but  plants,  which  do  indeed,  in  rare  in- 
stances, manifest  a  faint  indication  of  sensation,  do 
not  show  the  most  distant  appearance  of  a  will. 

Therefore  the  animal  kingdom  ranks  as  far 
above  the  world  of  plants,  as  the  self-determining 
soul  ranks  above  the  mechanical  vital  power,  or 
as  life  ranks  above  the  blind  powers  of  nature. 

Yet  the  animal  soul  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  vital  principle  in  plants,  and  the  activity 
of  both  often  manifests  itself  in  a  similar  manner. 
Just  as  the  plant,  following  laws  of  which  it  is  not 
conscious,  draws  from  earth,  air,  and  water  the 
nourishment  it  requires,  so  does  the  animal  soul 
act  in  obedience  to  mysterious  instincts,  which  it 
has  not  the  power  to  resist.  These  instincts,  how- 
ever, originate  in  the  peculiar  construction  of  the 
animal  body.  Thus  horned  cattle  pass  by  those 
herbs  which  are  not  congenial  to  the  nature  of 
their  bodies,  and  seek  for  those  which  will  afford 
them  healthy  nourishment.  Thus  hunger  makes 
the  wolf  ferocious,  while  the  instinct  that  incites 
them  to  pair  makes  even  the  fiercest  beasts  gre- 
garious. All  the  sensations  and  desires  of  animals 
arise  out  of  their  bodily  structure,  their  acts  are 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         133 

influenced  by  this  alone ;  that  which  is  agreeable 
or  painful  to  their  bodies,  they  like  or  dislike. 

How  different  from  the  mere  animal  soul  does 
the  exalted  spirit  of  man  appear !  This  is  not 
only  conscious  of  its  own  existence,  but  clearly  so. 
It  not  only  takes  cognizance  of  the  things  that 
surround  it,  (the  animal  soul  does  as  much,)  but 
it  recognizes  the  more  subtle  relations  between 
them,  with  their  causes  and  consequences.  It 
investigates  the  wonders  of  the  lower  creation,  it 
masters  the  elements  through  its  powers  of  inven- 
tion, and  presses  them  into  its  service  ;  it  trans- 
plants the  produce  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  into 
foreign  soils  ;  it  conquers  the  strength  of  the  most 
powerful  animals  ;  it  calculates  the  movements  of 
the  heavenly  spheres  through  space,  and  bears 
within  itself  a  revelation  of  the  Deity. 

Of  all  this  the  animal  knows  nothing.  The 
soul  of  the  most  sagacious  brute  is  incapable  of 
rising  to  the  height  attained  by  the  thoughts  even 
of  a  young  child.  The  animal  soul  has  indeed  a 
will,  but  it  only  wills  what  its  body  desires,  and 
acts  only  in  accordance  with  the  bodily  instincts. 
The  spirit  of  man,  on  the  contrary,  when  its  in- 
nate nobility  is  uncorrupted,  acknowledges  a 
higher  law  than  that  of  bodily  instincts  ;  it  obeys, 
not  the  flesh  hi  which  it  dwells,  but  itself  alone, 
that  is  to  say,  the  laws  of  its  reason,  whereby  it 
distinguishes  between  good  and  evil,  right  and 
wrong.     He  who  obeys  only  self-imposed  laws  is 


134  THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

free.  Therefore  the  human  spirit  is  capable  of 
freedom,  and  the  animal  soul,  being  the  slave  of 
sensual  instincts,  is  in  consequence  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  it.  The  human  spirit  is  akin  to  the 
divine,  the  animal  soul  is  akin  to  the  flesh. 

But  the  spirit  of  man  is  nevertheless,  through 
the  earthly  bonds  in  winch  it  is  held,  closely  con- 
nected with  the  animal  soul.  Frequently  the 
spirit  is  hardly  master  of  itself;  the  animal  soul 
connected  with  its  body  overwhelms  its  more 
exalted  power,  and  thus  arises  a  twofold  law  in 
the  human  breast.  Man  does  not  always  do  that 
which  the  spirit  wills,  but,  on  the  contrary,  often 
does  that  which  it  abhors.  Therefore  St.  Paul, 
the  inspired  Apostle,  said :  — 

"  But  I  see  another  law  in  my  members,  war- 
ring against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and  bringing 
me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is  in  my 
members."     (Rom.  vii.  23,) 

Further,  the  human  spirit,  in  spite  of  its  con- 
sciousness of  immortality,  is  also  herein  similar  to 
the  animal  soul,  that,  although  it  takes  cognizance 
of  the  things  that  surround  ify  it  has  no  knowledge 
of  its  own  nature.  It  is  familiar  with  all  things, 
but  is  a  stranger  to  itself,  and  cannot  say  how  or 
wherefore  it  exists.  All  earthly  matters  it  sur- 
veys and  organizes  with  wonderful  acuteness,  but 
the  spiritual  world  it  cannot  fathom,  though  it  is 
itself  spirit. 

Does   the    chain    of   the    higher    forces    and 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         135 

essences  end  with  the  spirit  of  man  ?  0,  if  so, 
how  short  were  it  not !  Who  can  believe,  when 
everything  in  the  universe  bears  the  stamp  of 
infinitude,  that  the  circle  of  the  higher  powers 
should  consist  only  of  the  blind  forces  of  nature, 
the  vital  power,  the  animal  soul,  and  the  spirit  of 
man  ? 

Nay,  feeling  the  inconceivably  great  distance 
that  separates  my  spirit  from  the  Deity,  I  am  will- 
ing to  believe  in  the  existence  of  manifold  powers, 
and  forces  of  a  higher  nature,  —  spirits  more  full 
of  knowledge,  goodness,  and  power  than  ours,  or 
Angels  as  we  term  them  in  ordinary  language. 

These  higher  powers  are,  perhaps,  or  even 
probably,  as  closely  akin  to  the  human  spirit  as 
this  is  to  the  animal  soul,  or  as  the  latter  is  to  the 
vital  force  in  matter,  or  as  this  again  is  to  the  dead 
forces  in  nature  ;  at  all  events,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  these  spirits,  kindred  to  our  own,  are 
as  far  above  us  in  power  and  capacity  as  man  is 
above  the  animals,  as  animals  are  above  plants, 
and  plants  above  minerals. 

It  seems  almost  as  if  I  could  picture  to  myself 
the  clearer  insight  of  those  higher  spiritual  ex- 
istences, which  rank  next  to  ourselves  in  the  scale 
of  beings.  They  must  be  able  to  look  deeper  into 
the  mysteries  of  God.  While  we  mortals  are 
endowed  with  the  capacity  of  understanding  and 
representing  earthly  matters,  but  are  left  in  igno- 
rance as  to  the  nature  of  spirit,  and  as  to  the  more 


136  THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS. 

occult  powers  of  the  universe,  —  the  higher  spirits 
are  probably  acquainted,  and  even  familiar  with, 
the  laws  of  spirit.  Before  their  eyes  the  myste- 
ries of  the  elementary  bodies  lie  open,  as  the  cup 
of  a  flower,  with  its  coronal  and  its  stamens,  lies 
open  before  ours.  We  see  only  the  outlines,  forms, 
and  relations  of  things  as  they  appear  outwardly ; 
the  more  lofty  spirits,  in  virtue  of  their  higher 
faculties,  of  which  we  cannot  even  form  a  con- 
ception, see  and  understand  the  internal  nature 
and  structure  of  things. 

But  hold  !  Whither  do  my  thoughts  venture 
in  their  bold  flight  ?  They  are  endeavoring  to 
break  through  the  limits  of  their  legitimate  field 
of  activity,  and  sacrilegiously  to  force  themselves 
into  the  sanctuary  of  higher  powers  and  spirits. 
Retreat !  Await  the  hour  which  thy  Creator  has 
appointed,  when  the  all-animating  Spirit,  the  Fa- 
ther of  the  universe,  shall  call  thee,  and  perhaps 
place  thee,  also,  in  the  rank  of  the  more  highly 
endowed  beings. 

O  Lord  !  Can  this  be  ?  Shall  I  be  worthy  of 
it  ?  Have  my  spiritual  powers  been  sufficiently 
developed  ?  Has  my  spirit  ceased  to  obey  earthly 
desires,  to  follow  the  animal  instincts  of  the  body  ? 
has  it  ceased  to  give  itself  up  to  voluptuousness, 
covetousness,  anger,  love  of  revenge,  hatred,  and 
malice  ?  Is  my  spirit  free,  acting  only  in  accord- 
ance with  its  own  laws,  i.  e.  God's  laws  ?  Does 
it  live  for  duty  more  than  for  worldly  gain  ?    Is  it 


THE  EXISTENCE   OF  ANGELS.         137 

actuated  at  all  times  by  love,  and  not  by  en- 
mity ? 

O  Father  !  O  Lord  God  !  How  my  spirit 
yearns  towards  thee  !  How  it  longs  to  escape 
from  the  imperfect  and  to  reach  the  perfect ! 
Could  I  gain  the  victory,  how  willingly  would  I 
die! 

Die  !  What  is  death  to  the  spirit  ?  It  is  but 
parting  from  its  earthly  coil,  the  body,  and 
from  its  earthly  sister,  the  soul.  Even  the  lat- 
ter escapes  from  its  worn-out  instrument,  the 
body,  and  withdraws  from  it  its  vegetable  life. 

Death  never  proceeds  from  the  spirit  to  the 
body,  for  the  spirit  is  life.  Death  arises  from 
violent  disturbance  of  the  spirit's  vehicle,  the 
body  ;  or  in  consequence  of  the  natural  forces 
having  completed  their  circulation  in  the  organ- 
ism, according  to  divine  rule.  They  then  with- 
draw from  the  body,  which  thus  loses  light  and 
heat,  motion  and  stimulant ;  and  the  natural 
forces  being,  as  it  were,  the  nourishing  oil  of  the 
flame  of  life,  this  becomes  extinct,  —  the  human 
spirit  is  released,  —  is  mature  ! 

O  God  !  may  it  be  my  right,  in  the  solemn 
hour  of  my  dissolution,  to  proclaim  in  exultant 
tones  of  joy :  I  am  a  power  ripened  for  a  better 
state  !  Admit  me  among  you,  O  beings  of  higher 
nature,  brothers  standing  on  a  more  exalted  level 
in  the  scale  of  creation !  I  am  your  brother,  for 
I  am  immortal ! 


DEATH    IS    MY    GAIN. 


Rock  of  God  !  mine  arm  doth  clasp  thee  : 

Immortality  !  I  grasp  thee : 

Night  and  sorrow  may  surround  me, 

Grief  and  care  my  peace  invade ; 
Shall  I  faint  because  they  wound  me  1 

No,  I  seek  thy  cooling  shade  ; 
Longing  after  God's  own  rest 
Fills  my  soul,  and  makes  me  blest. 

As  I  reach  that  mountain  height 
Swells  my  soul  with  calm  delight, 
When  the  cool  air,  softly  kissing, 

Wakes  a  fresher  spring  within, 
(Feeble  image  of  God's  blessing 

After  long-repented  sin,) 
Then  I  feel  my  course  is  gained, 
Soon  my  goal  shall  be  attained. 

Then,  0  then,  what  tongue  can  tell 
The  rapture  of  my  bosom's  swell, 
When  no  sorrow  more  can  grieve  me  ! 

When  God's  mantle  wraps  me  round, 
Never  more  alone  to  leave  me, 

Every  chain  of  sin  unbound, 
All  my  soul  is  happiness, 
Freedom  all  my  being's  bliss. 

(1  Cor.  xv.  31.) 

HE  human  body  with  which  we  are 
invested  on  earth  is  but  the  transpar- 
ent veil  of  the  soul,  and  we  should 
ever   hold  in  mind  this  relation  be- 
tween soul  and  body,  for  this  conception  is  not 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN.  139 

only  true  in  itself,  but  is  fruitful  of  important  con- 
clusions bearing  upon  life. 

The  Deity  willed  that  the  spirit  of  man  should 
be  capable  of  placing  itself  in  communication  with 
the  non-spiritual  existences,  therefore  it  was  en- 
veloped in  a  refined  earthly  material,  every  part 
of  which  is  vivified  by  the  spirit.  Through  means 
of  a  tissue  of  nerves,  so  delicate  as  scarcely  to  be 
perceptible  to  the  naked  eye,  and  which  interpen- 
etrate the  entire  body,  the  soul  holds  command 
over  the  latter.  Through  the  body  the  soul  re- 
ceives impressions  from  without,  which  tend  to  its 
improvement,  and  it  gradually  learns  to  avail 
itself  of  the  body  as  an  instrument  of  action 
upon  the  outward  world.  If  the  bodily  veil  be 
rent  in  twain,  if  the  instrument  be  destroyed,  the 
spirit  loses  its  power  over  its  former  habitation, 
which  becomes  as  foreign  to  it  as  all  other  earthly 
matter.  This  estrangement  between  soul  and 
body  is  called  death. 

The  body  is  a  transparent  covering  of  the  soul. 
In  all  movements  and  changes,  in  repose  as  in 
action,  we  recognize  the  soul  behind  the  appear- 
ances of  the  body.  It  is  not  the  body  that  loves 
or  is  angered ;  it  is  the  soul  that  speaks  in  thun- 
dering accents  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
voice,  and  which  smiles  in  the  merry  glance  of 
the  eye  ;  it  is  the  shame  felt  by  the  soul  that  suf- 
fuses the  cheek  with  blushes ;  it  is  the  soul's 
courage,    terror,   longing,    or    suffering    that    is 


140  DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN. 

shown  in  the  various  expressions  of  its  outward 
covering.  For  when  the  soul  is  separated  from 
the  delicate  and  mobile  covering,  which  we  call 
body,  what  becomes  of  the  latter  ?  It  sinks 
down  and  lies  like  a  discarded  garment.  It 
grows  rigid  like  a  marble  statue,  and  we  can 
hardly  believe  that  these  dead  ashes  have  ever 
been  animated  by  a  higher  essence. 

It  is  not  either  the  body  that  we  love  or  hate  in 
others,  but  the  soul  which  is  concealed 'behind  its 
veil.  It  is  the  soul's  loveliness  that  charms  us ; 
its  wisdom  or  its  virtue  which  inspires  us  with 
respect ;  its  degeneracy  that  awakens  our  indig- 
nation. In  the  presence  of  the  soul-abandoned 
corpse,  all  love  and  hatred  cease,  for  our  friend 
or  our  foe  has  disappeared,  and  his  discarded  cov- 
ering makes  no  more  impression  on  us  than  any 
other  dead  matter. 

Natural  as  it  is  that  no  one  should  love  the 
body  of  another,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  soul 
that  beams  forth  from  it,  as  natural  is  it  that  each 
man  should  love  the  body  in  which  his  own  soul 
is  clothed.  He  seeks  to  protect  and  improve  it, 
because  the  soul  requires  a  worthy  and  efficient 
instrument ;  he  endeavors  to  adorn  and  beautify 
it,  because  the  innate  and  constant  yearning  of 
the  soul  for  perfection  and  distinction  involun- 
tarily passes  over  to  that  which  is  most  intimately 
connected  with  it.  The  soul  even  strives,  in  the 
feeling  of  its  own  unworthiness,  to  cover  its  own 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN.  141 

failings  by  the  beauty  of  its  earthly  veil ;  it  tries 
to  draw  the  folds  of  this  more  closely  around 
itself,  in  order  that  it  may  not  be  seen  in  its  ugli- 
ness, —  and  of  such  persons  we  say  that  they  pre- 
sent a  false  appearance. 

The  necessity  that  each  soul  should  be  clad  in 
a  veil  of  flesh  is  one  of  the  eternal  ordinances 
of  the  Deity.  Hence  the  deep  and  strong  love 
of  the  soul  for  its  body;  hence  that  clinging  to 
life  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  overcome. 

But  what  is  death  ?  Nothing  but  the  separa- 
tion of  the  soul  from  its  earthly  covering.  What 
becomes  of  the  covering  when  discarded?  Does 
it  vanish  from  God's  creation?  No,  it  moulders 
into  dust  and  ashes,  and  mingles  with  the  rest  of 
the  earth,  out  of  whose  nourishing  elements  it 
was  originally  built  up.  It  does  not  go  out  of 
creation,  but  remains  in  it  available  for  other  pur- 
poses. But  what  becomes  of  the  unveiled  soul  ? 
Does  that  vanish  from  God's  creation  ?  O  no ! 
How  could  it  be  possible  that  the  nobler  element 
should  cease  to  exist,  when  the  baser  one  is  im- 
perishable ?  Are  we  to  believe  that  it  has  been 
removed  from  the  infinitude  of  created  beings, 
because  it  has  thrown  off  the  veil  through  which 
alone  it  could  reveal  its  presence  to  our  senses? 
Nay,  it  lives !  For  even  the  dust  in  which  it 
once  enveloped  itself  is  still  in  existence.  It 
lives  !  For  God  is  Creator,  not  annihilator !  It 
lives !     For  the  All-wise  cannot  have  repented 


142  DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN 

of  the  exalted  purpose  for  which  he  called  it  into 
being. 

And  is  the  throwing  off  of  this  earthly  veil  so 
very  painful?  It  is  true  the  natural  love  of  life 
which  the  Creator  has  implanted  in  us  makes  us 
recoil  from  the  thought  of  parting  from  our  earth- 
ly covering ;  but  the  strength  of  the  human  spirit 
can  conquer  the  terrors  of  nature.  How  many 
noble  men  have  not  met  death  in  the  cause  of 
God,  fatherland,  faith,  or  friends !  Tliey  felt  no 
fear  of  death.  How  many  poor,  weak,  degen- 
erate beings  have  not,  driven  by  despair,  volun- 
tarily sacrificed  a  life  that  had  become  a  burden 
to  them ! 

The  dying  do  not  practise  hypocrisy,  and  there- 
fore from  their  features  we  may  judge  what  is 
passing  in  their  minds.  This  being  the  case,  it 
would  almost  appear  that  a  pleasurable  feeling 
must  be  experienced  when  the  spirit  is  leaving 
its  mortal  coil ;  for  it  has  been  frequently  ob- 
served that  the  features  of  persons  who  are  dying 
from  painful  diseases  at  the  last  moment  assume 
an  expression  of  cheerful  repose,  and  that  even 
around  the  lips  of  the  corpse  a  placid  smile,  left 
by  the  spirit  in  parting,  lingers,  and  seems  to  say, 
"Ah,  what  blessed  relief!" 

But  the  imagination  of  those  persons  who 
attach  too  much  importance  to  the  body,  and 
who  therefore  shudder  at  the  idea  that  it  is 
to  be   delivered  up  to  destruction  in  the  earth, 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN.  143 

makes  death  more  terrible  than  it  is  in  reality. 
Giving  way  to  self-delusion,  they  even  at  times 
seem  to  fancy  that  the  dead  dust  feels  pain- 
fully its  state  in  the  earth,  whereas  in  fact  that 
which  feels  has  hastened  into  a  higher  existence, 
and  the  corpse,  the  discarded  veil  of  the  spirit,  is 
nothing  more  than  insensible  clay. 

Parting  from  the  habitual  and  pleasant  relations 
of  life,  the  loss  of  well-known  pleasures,  and 
separation  from  beloved  friends  on  earth,  may 
indeed  be  painful.  But  in  these  cases  it  is  not 
death  itself,  but  that  which  we  leave  behind  us, 
that  causes  us  to  mourn.  It  is  our  undue  attach- 
ment to  the  earthly  goods  which  have  only  been 
lent  to  us,  and  were  never  intended  to  be  our 
lasting  possessions,  that  occasions  the  grief  which 
we  experience.  It  is,  therefore,  an  imperfection 
of  the  soul,  a  want  of  true  wisdom,  which  entails 
suffering,  as  does  every  fault.  Yea,  even  the 
love  we  bear  our  friends  may  be  reprehensible. 
Can  we  expect  £hat  the  Deity  will  take  our  obsti- 
nate attachments  into  consideration,  and  alter  his 
higher  purposes  to  suit  our  views  ?  And  in  what 
does  the  parting  from  our  beloved  in  death  differ 
from  every  other  parting,  even  from  the  "  good- 
night "  we  wish  our  friends  before  we  go  to  sleep  ? 

Death  may  indeed  be  fearful  to  those  who 
have  entirely,  or  in  great  measure,  neglected 
their  immortal  soul  in  this  life,  who  —  like  the 
animals   thoughtless    of    the   future    beyond    the 


144  DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN. 

grave — have  only  taken  heed  for  the  well-be- 
ing and  enjoyment  of  their  bodies  ;  who  have 
oppressed  their  fellow-men,  or  slandered  and  de- 
ceived them,  in  order  to  gain  for  themselves  more 
honors,  more  riches,  and  more  enjoyment ;  to 
whom  it  seems  preposterous  to  restrain  their 
sensual  desires,  their  animal  instincts,  in  order 
to  strengthen  the  power  of  their  souls ;  who  call 
it  folly  to  sacrifice  earthly  pleasure  for  the  sake 
of  virtue ;  who  consider  it  silly  enthusiasm  to 
work  for  the  good  of  others,  when  no  thanks 
are  to  be  reaped,  or  when  persecution  and  great 
sacrifices  must  be  encountered. 

When  the  moment  has  come  for  such  persons 
to  throw  off  the  earthly  coil,  the  body  they  so 
much  love,  for  which  alone  they  think  God  has 
created  them ;  when  they  are  to  part  from  the 
dust,  for  which  alone  they  lived,  to  which  they 
sacrificed  all  things,  for  which  they  committed  so 
much  injustice,  —  to  them  indeed  death  must  be 
terrible.  For  poor,  unworthy,  miserable,  imper- 
fect are  their  neglected  souls,  which  have  lost  the 
sweet  innocence  of  which  they  could  boast  in 
childhood,  and  which  are  now  loaded  with  the 
burden  of  many  sins.  As  they  sowed  in  life,  so 
they  have  reaped.  For  the  eternal  future  of 
their  spirits  they  never  sowed. 

Even  when  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  health  the 
unrighteous  man  cannot  at  times  help  blushing  at 
his  own  depravity.     In  the  midst  of  his  evil-doing 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN.  145 

he  is  obliged  to  confess  to  himself  that  he  is  act- 
ing  in  a  manner  which  he  cannot  justify  either 
to  God  or  to  man.  But  his  soul,  though  feeling 
what  is  right,  is  conquered  by  the  power  of  his 
sensual  being,  to  which  long  habit  has  given  the 
mastery.  But  when  the  power  of  the  senses 
declines  with  the  strength  of  the  body,  when 
self-delusion  is  no  longer  possible,  and  the  soul 
recognizes  itself  hi  all  its  hideousness,  —  then 
what  must  be  his  state  ?  With  what  feelings 
must  he  look  to  the  future,  who  has  lost  all  upon 
earth,  and  who  has  nothing  to  hope  from  eternity  ? 

How  different  the  condition  of  the  wise  and 
noble  spirit,  which  knows  its  duties  and  fulfils 
them,  and  honors  the  high  purpose  for  which 
the  omnipotence  of  God  called  it  into  existence. 
How  different  the  condition  of  the  Christian,  who 
has  gained  full  ascendency  over  his  lower  nature, 
and  ever  places  the  claims  of  the  soul  above  those 
of  the  body ;  who  understands  the  deep  import  of 
the  words,  to  live  in  Christ. 

To  him  death  is  a  gain.  How  could  it  be  a 
loss  to  him  ?  To  him  who  has  made  the  divine 
thoughts  of  Christ  his  own,  neither  this  earth,  nor 
his  own  house,  nor  village,  nor  city,  is  his  true 
home.  He  is  conscious  that  he  was  not  born  to 
be  forever  attached  to  the  clod  of  earth  which  he 
cultivates  to  satisfy  Ins  earthly  necessities,  but  to 
be  a  citizen  of  the  eternal  and  infinite  realm  of 
God.  In  his  eyes  it  is  not  this  short  life  on  earth 
7  J 


146  DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN. 

that  is  the  most  important,  but  the  life  in  the 
entire  divine  creation.  The  universe  is  his 
Father's  house,  and  God,  who  dwells  therein,  is 
his  Father,  and  every  soul  in  it  is  bound  to  him 
by  the  ties  of  brotherhood. 

To  him  death  is  a  gain.  For  what  loss  does 
the  soul  sustain  in  death  ?  It  only  throws  off  its 
heavy  earthly  veil ;  it  only  changes  its  garment ; 
it  receives  from  the  Father  of  love  a  more  beau- 
tiful raiment,  instead  of  the  cast-off  vestment, 
which  its  altered  circumstances  have  rendered 
useless.  The  soul  remains  what  it  was,  God  re- 
mains with  it,  the  divine  universe,  with  all  the 
wonders  of  creation,  remain.  What  does  it  lose  ? 
The  friends  and  relatives  whom  it  loved  on 
earth  ?  O  no,  they  are  still  in  the  house  of  the 
Father,  they  are  still  bound  to  it  by  the  same 
ties  of  brotherhood  as  before,  though  they  cannot 
communicate  with  it  any  longer  through  earthly 
means.  Nay,  its  loved  ones  are  not  lost  to  it. 
That  cannot  be  lost  which  is  in  the  hands  of  God. 

To  him  who  knows  how  to  live  with  Jesus, 
death  is  a  gain.  Or  can  it  be  said  that  this  sublu- 
nary life  is  full  of  roses,  and  has  no  thorns  ?  It 
is  true  that  with  the  change  I  lose  many  pleas- 
ures, but  then,  also,  I  shall  be  placed  above  many 
fears  and  many  sorrows.  Tears  will  never  be 
shed  by  me  again,  for  sweet  is  the  fate  of  liber- 
ated souls  !  Is  this  earthly  life  so  full  of  unmixed 
happiness  that  we   should  wish  it  to  endure  for- 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN.  447 

ever  ?  Why  do  persons  of  very  advanced  ao-e 
so  frequently  long  for  rest,  for  dissolution,  for 
liberation,  for  removal  into  the  better  life  ?  and 
why,  among  thousands  and  thousands  of  people, 
is  there  not  one  who,  if  the  choice  were  given, 
would  begin  life  over  again  if  its  course  were  to 
be  exactly  the  same  ?  Well,  then,  what  great 
loss  can  this  life  be  in  reality,  when  there  are  so 
few  to  whom  it  has  throug-h  its  whole  course 
brought  sufficient  happiness  to  induce  them  to 
wish  it  to  remain  forever  as  it  was  ?  Is  it  not 
rather  a  gain  for  souls,  who  can  with  confidence 
resign  themselves  to  it,  to  go  over  into  another 
and  a  better  world  ?  After  all,  what  are  the 
terrors  of  death  ?  Merely  the  terrors  of  a  child- 
ishly timid  imagination.  The  same  God,  O  soul, 
that  divests  thee  of  one  garment,  will  invest  thee 
with  another. 

He  who  knows  how  to  live  with  Christ,  will 
also  know  how  to  die  joyfully  with  him.  (1  Cor. 
xv.  31.)  He  dies  each  time  he  lifts  his  thoughts 
to  God  and  forgets  all  earthly  matters.  He  dies 
each  time  he  communes  in  spirit  with  his  de- 
parted loved  ones,  and  feels  that  he  is  with  them. 
For  in  such  solemn  moments  this  world  is  to  him 
as  if  it  were  not.  He  is  in  the  presence  of  God, 
in  the  presence  of  those  he  loved.  He  is  what 
his  soul  will  be  when  it  has  been  uncoiled  from  its 
earthly  veil ;  only  not  in  such  great  perfection  as 
it  will  be  when  it  shall  be  able  to  communicate 


148  DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN. 

with  God  and  the  loved  friends,  in  a  new  vest- 
ment, and  as  it  were  through  means  of  more 
glorious  instruments. 

Death  is  my  gain  ;  for  what  is  the  purpose  of 
my  life  on  earth  ?  Like  all  mankind,  I  am  des- 
tined to  live  eternally ;  all  nature  teaches  me  this  ; 
and  therefore,  even  here  below,  I  am  to  live  for 
eternity;  and  all  my  longing  is  for  a  better, 
higher  existence.  It  is  with  this  in  view  that  I 
labor  to  improve  myself;  it  is  with  this  in  view 
that  I  endeavor  to  adorn  my  spirit  with  every 
virtue.  That  which  I  become  through  Christ, 
that  is,  through  following  his  divine  example,  that 
shall  I  be  on  yonder  side  the  grave.  It  is  there- 
fore death  that  leads  me  to  the  desired  goal. 
Through  it  I  reach  what  I  have  been  ever  striv- 
ing for ;  through  it  I  become  what  I  was  destined 
to  be. 

Death  is  my  gain.  I  exchange  a  less  perfect 
garment  for  a  more  perfect  one,  exchange  a  lower 
seat,  in  the  great  paternal  house  of  the  universe, 
for  a  higher  one  ;  I  exchange  an  inferior  degree 
of  happiness  for  a  state  of  bliss,  of  which  my 
limited  earthly  faculties  can  as  little  form  a  con- 
ception, as  the  lowly  worm  in  the  dust  can  form 
a  conception  of  the  joys  that  may  vibrate  in  the 
bosom  of  rational  man.  I  proceed  from  a  neces- 
sitous state  into  a  world  of  overflowing  plenty, 
where  a  drop  becomes  an  ocean,  and  a  spark  of 
light  becomes  a  sun. 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN.  149 

Death  is  my  gain.  Why  should  my  soul  be 
alarmed  at  the  unknown  road  along  which  it  has 
to  travel  ?  Is  the  path  that  I  have  to  wander 
here  below  better  known  to  me  ?  Is  not  each 
succeeding  hour  of  my  life  shrouded  to  me  in 
impenetrable  darkness?  Do  I  know  what  will 
happen  to  me  the  next  moment  ?  Whither  I  shall 
go  ?  And  yet  I  live  through  each  of  those  hours, 
and  each  becomes  light  to  me  as  soon  as  I  live 
in  it. 

And  equally  light  will  be  the  hour  that  succeeds 
that  of  death.  The  unknown  road  will  be  made 
known  to  me  as  soon  as  I  enter  upon  it.  Why, 
then,  should  I  recoil  from  it  with  a  shudder  ?  Is 
it  not  the  same  as  has  been  trodden  by  the  dear 
ones  who  have  gone  before  me  ?  Why  should  I 
not  be  rejoiced  to  follow  in  the  path  of  those  souls 
who  will  ever  be  precious  to  me  ?  Perhaps,  in  the 
very  moment  when  the  earthly  veil  falls  from  my 
spirit,  I  shall  recognize  those  dear  ones,  whom  I 
believed  so  far  removed  from  me,  and  shall  learn 
that  they  were  always  nearer  to  me  than  in  my 
earthly  state  I  had  any  conception  of. 

Yea,  verily,  death  is  my  gain  !  It  is  closer 
union  with  the  Father  of  spirits ;  it  is  reunion 
with  my  glorified  loved  ones,  for  whom  my  soul 
is  yearning ;  reunion  with  those  for  whom  to  this 
day  my  wounded  heart  bleeds,  my  eyes  weep. 
Reunion  !  Renewed  possession  !  Renewed  life  ! 
O  ye  whom  God's  hand  directed  towards  me,  and 


150  DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN. 

linked  to  me  in  his  creation  !  To  find  you  again  ! 
To  love  you  again !  To  be  forever  united  with 
beloved  and  glorified  souls !  What  bliss  in  this 
thought !  God  gave  you  to  me  :  God,  the  most 
exalted  love,  inspired  us  with  this  love,  which 
death  cannot  destroy,  and  which  binds  the  mortal, 
as  with  invisible  bonds,  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
higher  world  !  God  does  not  destroy  that  which 
is  holy,  which  is  good,  for  it  is  his  own  work ! 
And  love  is  the  highest  good  which  souls  can  ac- 
quire in  their  mutual  intercourse.  It  is  because 
he  is  himself  Infinite  Love,  that  God  has  peopled 
the  universe  with  living  souls. 

Death  is  my  gain  !  May  this  be  my  last  sigh 
on  my  bed  of  death ;  and  may  the  thought  of  the 
love  of  my  Creator,  and  of  the  dear  ones  that 
have  preceded  me  into  another  life,  be  the  last 
that  occupies  my  soul,  ere  the  veil  falls  from  it. 
When  it  drops,  my  spirit  shall  at  once  be  in  those 
realms  of  glory  which  they  entered  before  me. 

Therefore,  O  Christ,  O  divine  Revealer  of  the 
Father,  be  thou  my  life ;  for  without  thee,  to  die 
were  to  see  my  soul  enter  into  destruction  !  O  God- 
enlightened  Teacher,  I  will  think  thy  thoughts, 
I  will  walk  according  to  thy  divine  doctrines.  I 
will  contemplate  from  thy  elevation  all  earthly 
matters.  With  thy  love  I  will  love  my  brethren, 
with  thy  zeal  endeavor  to  spread  joy  and  happi- 
ness around  me.  With  thy  courage  I  will  over- 
come every  obstacle  to  virtue,  and  will  master 


DEATH  IS  MY  GAIN. 


151 


myself  so  as  to  be  able  to  act  justly,  nobly,  di- 
vinely. With  thy  patience  I  will  bear  every  ill 
of  life,  with  thy  wisdom  and  moderation  enjoy  ite 
pleasures.  With  thy  faith  I  will  walk  meekly 
and  trustingly  in  the  ways  of  Providence,  and 
through  thine  eyes  I  will  look  up  to  eternity  as 
to  my  Father's  house,  and  to  God  as  to  my 
Father. 

For  if  Christ  be  my  life,  death  is  my  gain. 


ETERNAL    DESTINY. 


Part  I. 


Star  of  day 
Whose  laughing  ray 
Is  to  cheer  our  homesteads  given,  — 
Stars  of  night 
Shining  bright, 
In  the  deep  blue  vault  of  heaven,  ■ — 
Though  ye  shine 
With  peace  divine, 
Making  lovely  earth  and  sea, 
Comes  the  feeling 
O'er  me  stealing 
Still  how  dark  man's  life  may  be. 
Sadly  turning 
From  the  burning 
Of  your  golden  glances  bright, 
Thus  I  raise 
My  trembling  gaze 
To  the  everlasting  light, 
Which  o'er  cradle  and  o'er  grave, 
O'er  the  vale  where  palm-trees  wave, 
O'er  the  bloody  battle  strife, 
O'er  the  joys  and  tears  of  life,  — 
Whether  fortune  smile  or  frown, 
Still  unchangeably  looks  down. 

(Rom.  xi.  33,  34.) 

§||^  HE  months  pass  calmly  over  our  heads 
heedless  of  our  hopes  and  our  sorrows. 
The  seasons  vary  in  unbroken  succes- 
sion.    Old  things  become  new,  and 
new  ones  old;  the  works  of  the  past  perish,  in 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  153 

their  turn  to  be  forgotten.  It  is  ever  the  same. 
Everything  has  its  invariable  course  assigned  to 
it,  its  inevitable  goal  marked  out  for  it.  Every- 
thing is  subject  to  one  great  iron  rule,  —  the 
stars  of  heaven  as  well  as  the  flowers  of  the  field ; 
the  rock  as  well  as  the  worm  that  crawls  at  its 
foot;  the  entire  nation  as  well  as  the  single  m- 
dividuals  born  into  it.  Nothing;  can  be  otherwise 
than  it  is  ;  nothing  will  ever  be  otherwise  than  it  is 
appointed  to  be.     Such  is  destiny,  — the  eternal ! 

What  is  tlestiny?  —  How?  Everything  has 
been  pre-ordained  from  eternity?  No  blossom 
fades,  no  infant  weeps,  no  rock  is  precipitated 
from  a  mountain,  no  nation  perishes,  unless  it 
has  been  so  ordained  from  the  beginning  of  time  ? 
What,  then,  of  my  virtue  and  my  sins  ?  Who  is 
the  criminal,  who  the  judge  ?  Is  my  will  also 
pre-ordained  by  destiny?  Am  I  nothing  more 
nor  less  in  the  great  universe  than  the  mote 
dancing  in  the  sunbeam,  not  as  it  wills,  but  as 
it  must?  If  everything  that  happens  now  has 
been  pre-ordained  since  the  beginning  of  time, 
of  what  avail  are  my  sighs,  my  wishes,  my 
striving  for  perfection  ?  Of  what  avail  are  my 
prayers  ?  Were  not  these  prayers  also  pre- 
ordained in  the  eternal  councils  of  destiny  ?  I 
am,  then,  but  a  machine,  forming  part  of  the 
great  all ;  and  my  supposed  free-will  is  but  a 
delusion  ? 

What  is  eternal  destiny?  It  is  the  immense, 
7* 


154  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

infinite,  immovable  universe,  in  which  all  things 
follow  each  other  necessarily  as  cause  and  effect. 
Each  effect  becomes  in  its  turn  the  cause  of  new 
effects.  The  tree  brings  forth  seed,  and  the  seed 
brings  forth  a  tree.  My  youth  having  been  what 
it  was,  I  must  be  what  I  am.  The  pre-ordained 
occurrences  of  last  year  have  produced  those  of 
this  year ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  those  of  long- 
forgotten  centuries,  we  should  not  have  witnessed 
the  events  of  our  times.  Thus  has  one  thing  been 
linked  within  another  from  the  beginning  of  time, 
and  this  concatenation  extends  into  the  infinite 
future.  There,  as  in  the  past,  one  wheel  of  the 
huge  world-engine  drives  the  other,  one  part  is 
indissolubly  linked  to  another.  Such  is  the  rule 
of  destiny,  and  therefore  naught  can  be  changed. 
Just  as  he  who  throws  a  stone  into  the  still  waters 
of  the  lake  knows  beforehand  the  sound  that  will 
ensue,  and  the  eddies  which  will  be  formed,  and 
which,  spreading  hi  ever  wider  circles,  will  ex- 
tend to  the  distant  shores,  while  in  the  centre, 
whence  the  movement  first  issued,  the  waters 
have  already  become  still  again ;  so  might  one, 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  all  things  in  the 
world,  know  by  anticipation,  from  the  movement 
given  to  them  in  the  first  instance,  thousands  of 
years  previously,  what  would  be  the  events  and 
occurrences  during  thousands  of  succeeding  years. 
But  that  would  be  omniscience,  and  omniscience  is 
not  given  to  mortal  man.     Therefore  he  totters 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  155 

with  uncertain  step  through  the  great  labyrinth 
of  the  universe,  knowing  not  what  went  before  or 
what  is  to  come  after ;  calling  what  befalls  him, 
sometimes  fortune,  sometimes  chance,  sometimes 
unavoidable  necessity.  But  the  terms  chance 
and  accident  are  merely  terms  applied  to  those 
things  the  immediate  cause  of  which  man  is  un- 
able to  detect.  There  can  be  no  such  thing  as 
chance,  as  every  effect  has  its  cause.  Every- 
thing is  under  the  rule  of  necessity ;  everything 
has  been  included  in  the  councils  of  eternal 
destiny. 

Everything?  How?  Is  then  the  infinite 
universe,  with  everything  that  stirs  and  moves 
within  it,  nothing  but  a  machine,  a  well-con- 
structed clock-work  in  which  nothing  can  take 
place  but  what  the  constructor  has  foreseen  and 
pre-arranged?  I  myself  am,  then,  but  a  very 
insignificant  part  of  this  world's  machine  ?  I  am 
struck  with  dismay.  What  am  I  ?  Where  am 
I  ?  How  alone  I  stand  with  my  joys  and  my 
sorrows  in  the  midst  of  this  cold,  rigid  organiza- 
tion of  the  world,  amid  these  dead,  will-less  be- 
ings !  Why  am  I  destined  to  feel  and  love,  when 
there  is  nothing  that  deserves  my  love  ?  Why 
hate,  when  all  evil,  even  vice,  is  pre-ordained, 
and  follows  a  law  of  necessity  ?  Alas,  my  dearest 
wishes,  my  sweetest  hopes,  abandon  me  !  For 
what  purpose  is  this  juggle  carried  on  ?  Why 
should  I  be  made  to  feel  repentance  for  faults 


156  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

which  I  was  pre-ordained  to  commit?  Why 
should  I  hate  sin,  if  eternal  destiny  has  conse- 
crated me  to  that  also? 

No,  no  !  It  cannot  be  so  !  Every  feeling  with- 
in me  contradicts  this  conception  of  the  universe 
and  its  laws.  My  spirit  revolts  against  it.  I  am 
distinctly  conscious  of  the  freedom  of  my  will; 
and  though  my  body  may  be  similar  to  a  passive 
instrument,  my  spirit  is  not  a  machine,  it  is  liv- 
ing ;  it  rules  and  determines  after  mature  reflec- 
tion. Nay,  the  world  is  not  a  cold,  dead  mass,  in 
which  everything  moves  without  consciousness, 
according  to  eternally  pre-ordained  laws.  The 
action,  the  power,  and  the  goodness  of  a  living 
and  loving  God  animate  all  things,  and  spread 
happiness  around.  O,  what  would  the  world  be 
without  love,  without  a  Deity,  without  justice, 
freedom,  and  retribution?  A  gigantic  corpse, 
from  which  the  soul  has  fled ;  an  unconscious 
play  of  things,  in  which  there  is  no  place  for  the 
highest  and  the  best,  for  virtue,  love,  perfection, 
but  only  for  then  names.  A  miserable,  unmean- 
ing, unsolvable,  never-ending  riddle ;  and  the 
most  wretched  of  beings  in  it,  man,  with  the 
claims  of  his  reason  and  the  sentiments  of  his 
heart ! 

No  ;  such  a  conception  of  destiny  is  an  error  of 
the  understanding,  arising  from  a  one-sided  view 
of  things,  which  entangles  it  in  self-contradiction, 
and  sets  it  at  variance  with  everything  that  we 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  157 

perceive  in  the  outer  world,  as  well  as  with  our 
inward  consciousness. 

What  is  eternal  destiny  ?  It  is  the.  immense, 
fixed,  endless  organization  of  the  world,  in  which 
all  things  follow  each  other  necessarily  as  cause 
and  effect.  Each  effect  becomes  in  its  turn  a 
cause  ;  therefore  that  which  takes  place  to-day  is 
the  necessary  consequence  of  the  past,  and  that 
which  I  am  to-day  is  the  necessary  fruit  of  what 
I  was  in  days  gone  by.  I  cannot  deny  this  ;  how, 
then,  shall  I  avoid  those  errors  of  the  under- 
standing in  which  I  am  again  in  danger  of  being 
involved  ? 

I  will  take  a  survey  of  the  various  aspects  of 
the  universe.  When  I  do  this,  I  perceive  in  the 
dead  stone,  and  through  all  created  things  up  to 
the  highest  creature,  an  infinite  number  of  forces. 
Everything  that  is,  is  in  itself  a  force  or  agency,  — 
that  is  to  say,  it  acts  upon  the  surrounding  matter. 
Even  the  dead  stone  is  a  force  or  agency,  other- 
wise it  could  not  act  upon  the  things  around  it, 
through  its  weight  and  its  cohesion  ;  otherwise  it 
could  not  act  upon  our  senses,  through  its  color, 
its  form,  or  its  smell.  That  which  produces  no 
effect  upon  me  is  to  me  non-existent,  but  that 
which  acts  upon  me  is  a  force. 

The  forces  present  in  God's  universe  are  as 
manifold  as  they  are  countless.  They  form  an 
immense,  graduated  scale,  from  the  most  insig- 
nificant entity  to  the  highest.     They  unite  with 


158  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

other  forces,  and  through  such  union  produce  new 
phenomena.  What  a  variety  of  forces  are  there 
not,  for  instance,  in  the  body  which  we  call  a 
stone !  How  much  greater  still  is  the  number 
and  variety  in  plants  ;  and  beyond  these  again  in 
animals  !  But  there  is  not  only  variety  in  these 
forces,  but  also  gradations.  The  vital  force  of  the 
plant  is  a  higher  agency  than  any  that  resides 
in  the  stone.  The  plant  multiplies  itself,  has  its 
youth  and  maturity,  and  propagates  its  species. 
Higher  still  is  the  force  which  we  call  animal 
soul ;  because  this  latter  feels,  chooses,  judges. 
Higher  still  is  the  force  of  the  human  spirit  in 
the  beautiful  distinctness  of  its  self-consciousness. 
And  forces  higher  even  than  this  range  above  us, 
and  are  called  in  the  Scriptures  angels  and  arch- 
angels. 

But  all  these  families  and  kingdoms  of  forces 
in  God's  creation  are  what  they  are  by  the  will 
of  God  ;  each  has  its  special  sphere  of  action,  its 
special  conditions,  its  special  laws  assigned  to  it, 
and  according  to  these  it  must  exist  and  act. 
Therefore  the  stone  is,  and  ever  remains,  a  stone, 
and  retains  its  qualities  as  such ;  therefore  the 
roots  of  the  vine  and  of  the  thistle  seek  only  such 
nourishing  substances  as  are  in  conformity  with 
their  nature  ;  therefore  the  birds  of  the  air  live 
and  move  otherwise  than  the  fishes  in  the  sea. 
Every  force  in  nature  has  received  from  God  its 
peculiar  law,  and  thus  the  human  spirit  has  also 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  159 

its  own  law,  which  is  neither  that  of  the  animal, 
the  plant,  nor  the  stone. 

In  conformity  with  these  special  laws  of  their 
nature  is  the  action  of  all  created  things  upon 
each  other.  They  unite  and  separate,  attract  and 
repel  each  other,  seek  and  avoid  each  other,  and 
thus  arise  the  teeming  life  and  ceaseless  movement 
in  the  universe.  The  mutual  conflict  between 
the  various  forces  constitutes  the  life  of  the  uni- 
verse. 

As  none  of  the  forces  which  in  their  totality 
constitute  the  universe  can  act  otherwise  than  the 
sphere  of  action  assigned  to  them  and  the  laws 
laid  down  for  them  by  God  will  admit  of,  their 
action  is  the  necessary  consequence  of  these  laws. 
And  when  the  forces  came  into  being,  the  will 
of  God,  the  great  and  eternal  Constructor  of  the 
worlds,  foresaw  all  the  effects  they  were  to  pro- 
duce. This  was  the  eternal  pre- ordination  of  that 
which  was  to  be. 

But  when  God  from  the  beginning  willed  the 
existence  of  the  world,  he  willed  it  in  his  infinite 
wisdom.  Therefore  the  conflict  of  the  forces 
created  no  confusion,  but  progressive  develop- 
ment ;  not  internecine  destruction,  but  a  great 
and  wonderful  life,  comprising  all  and  in  which 
each  serves  the  other.  Such  was,  such  is,  and 
and  such  will  ever  be,  the  great  order  of  the 
universe,  in  which  stars  and  grains  of  dust  move 
in  their  appointed  circles,  in  which  the  humblest 


160  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

grasses   and  mosses   bloom   and  die    away  as    do 
entire    nations. 

And  when  God  in  his  infinite  wisdom  created 
the  order  of  the  universe,  and  created  it  for  in- 
finitely exalted  ends,  he  created  it  also  in  the 
fulness  of  his  love.  He,  the  All-Good  One,  willed 
that  the  whole  should  be  infinitely  harmonious, 
and  that  all  the  sentient  forces  in  it  should  enjoy 
happiness.  Therefore  we  see  provision  made  even 
for  the  happiness  of  the  humblest  insect ;  and  for 
the  spirit  of  man  he  provided  far  higher  bliss. 
But  the  insect  is  bereft  of  its  joy,  and  feels  pain, 
as  soon  as  it  violates  the  laws  of  its  nature  ;  and 
in  like  manner  the  spirit  of  man  forfeits  the  higher 
joys  provided  for  it,  when  it  fails  to  fulfil  the  law 
of  its  being.  And  this  law  is,  that  it  should  be- 
come perfect,  as  its  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect ; 
consequently,  that  it  should  maintain  the  more 
exalted  position  assigned  to  it,  and  rule  the  lower 
forces,  and  not  allow  itself  to  be  ruled  by  them. 
The  spirit  is  bound  to  hold  in  abeyance  the  animal 
forces  that  reside  in  its  body,  to  subdue  the  impure 
desires  of  the  latter,  and  to  look  up  to  God  and 
to  the  spiritual  world  to  which  it  belongs.  The 
spirit's  law  is  conscience,  yearning  after  perfection, 
abhorrence  of  all  evil,  and  indestructible  desire  for 
freedom.  If  man  allow  his  spirit  to  be  conquered 
in  its  conflicts  with  the  animal  and  plant-like  parts 
of  his  nature,  he  becomes  wretched  and  contempt- 
ible in  his  own  eyes.      For  in  the  order  of  the 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  \Q\ 

universe,  everything  is  a  concatenation  of  neces- 
sary consequences.  Sin  and  imperfection  give 
birth  to  suffering. 

Man  is  consequently  not  pre-ordained  to  be 
the  victim  of  sin  and  corruption,  but  to  be  made 
happy  through  his  perfections.  If  he  firmly  wills 
it,  he  can  attain  this  perfection  in  all  the  relations 
of  life.  He  may  know  beforehand,  that  when  he 
feels  sorrow  or  suffering  there  is  something  in 
himself  which  is  not  as  it  ought  to  be.  The  sor- 
row and  suffering  are  in  themselves  his  guides 
to  happiness.     This  is  his  destiny! 

Whatever  fate  may  befall  us,  we  are  consequent- 
ly independent  of  it,  in  as  far  as  we  are  ivhat  we 
ought  to  be.  Our  dear  ones  may  die,  but  we  are 
not  made  unhappy  by  this,  unless  we  forget  that 
they  and  we  are  members  of  the  spiritual  world ; 
that,  as  spirits,  they  cannot  be  lost  to  us ;  and 
that  we  ought  not  to  allow  ourselves  to  be 
attached  to  the  perishable  clay  in  the  grave,  as 
though  it  were  imperishable.  The  death  of  the 
body  was  necessary  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
that  rule  that  which  is  earthly  ;  our  grief  is  the 
necessary  consequence  of  our  too  great  attach- 
ment to  that  which  pertains  to  earth.  This  is 
destiny  !  But  all  things  pre-ordained  by  God  are 
beneficent,  they  strengthen  our  powers  ;  by  gentle- 
ness they  lure,  or  by  terrible  earnestness  they 
force,  the  spirit  to  rise  from  that  which  is  earthly 
and  perishable  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the 


162  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

imperishable,  from  the  animal  to  the  spiritual 
which  constitutes  our  true  dignity.  Wars  and 
battles,  famine  and  misery,  disease,  robbery,  and 
arson,  come  within  the  rules  of  destiny.  But 
what  are  they  ?  Nothing  more  than  the  destruc- 
tion of  what  is  perishable.  They  point  towards 
that  which  is  imperishable,  eternal ;  that  is,  to  that 
inward  happiness  of  which  nothing  can  deprive 
us.  Thy  despair  at  the  misfortunes  which  be- 
fall thee,  was  it  comprised  in  the  doom  of  thy  des- 
tiny ?  Yes,  because  it  is  a  necessary  consequence 
of  thine  own  imperfection.  The  peace  of  mind 
which  the  sage  enjoys,  in  spite  of  every  misfor- 
tune, is  an  equally  necessary  consequence  of  his 
greatness  of  mind,  and  of  the  conquering  power 
of  his  soul. 

The  more  virtuous  and  the  more  self-possessed 
the  human  spirit  be,  the  more  invulnerable  it  is, 
the  more  independent  of  destiny.  God  is  raised 
above  destiny  because  he  is  the  All-Holy  One. 
The  more  holy  our  inward  being,  the  nearer 
we  stand  to  God ;  and  the  nearer  we  are  to  God, 
the  higher  we  are  lifted  above  the  power  of  des- 
tiny. 

Thus  the  apparent  contradictions  are  dissolved 
into  beautiful  harmonies ;  and  from  out  of  the 
darkness  comes  forth  light.  Everything  must 
work  for  our  good,  everything  must  be  on  our  side, 
because  God  is  on  our  side.  The  pre-ordinations 
of  the  Lord  are  wise,  just,  and  beneficent.     Their 


ETERNAL  DESTINY. 


163 


end  is  not  to  make  us  slaves  without  a  will  of  our 
own,  but  to  give  freedom  to  our  spirits ;  they 
work  with  our  spirits  in  order  to  raise  them  above 
fate.  O  what  unbounded  riches  in  the  wisdom 
and  knowledge  of  God !  How  impenetrable  are 
his  judgments,  and  how  inscrutable  his  ways  ! 


ETERNAL    DESTINY. 


Part  II. 

From  forth  the  darkness,  deep  and  vast, 
By  destiny  our  lot  is  cast ; 
Round  all  of  earth  her  net  she  draws, 
And  the  world  owns  her  guiding  laws. 

But  One  there  is,  enthroned  on  high, 
Beneath  whose  feet  sits  destiny, 
Who  binds  together  flesh  and  soul, 
And  holds  e'en  fate  in  his  control. 

For  destiny  is  but  God's  slave ; 
He  rules,  his  grace  alone  can  save ; 
And  mortals  strive  their  game  to  make, 
For  destiny,  that  priceless  stake. 

And  Jesus  leads  the  spirit  choir 
Whose  souls  from  dust  to  God  aspire. 
He  Fate  under  subjection  lays, 
Who  unto  God  his  soul  can  raise. 

(Isaiah  lv.  8,  9.) 


^DIVIDUAL  sages  who  lived  and 
taught  in  remote  antiquity,  and  sub- 
sequently entire  nations,  observed  the 
rule  of  destiny  in  the  course  of  hu- 
man affairs,  and  all  hearts  trembled  before  the 
dread  power  thus  recognized.     Philosophic  minds 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  165 

among  the  heathens  endeavored  to  solve  the  fear- 
ful riddle.  They  called  the  eternal,  inexorable 
power  to  which  everything  was  subject,  which 
nothing  could  resist,  blind  fate.  On  it,  they  be- 
lieved, depended  the  lot  of  the  meanest  worm, 
as  that  of  the  most  exalted  man  and  of  every 
nation.  Nay,  even  all  the  deities  with  which  the 
imagination  of  mortals  then  peopled  earth  and 
heaven  were,  in  then'  opinion,  subject  to  this 
universal  law ;  even  the  mightiest  of  the  gods 
were  not  beyond  its  power. 

This  belief  in  an  all-ruling  fate  could  not  fail 
to  arise  among  men  who  had  not  yet  learnt  to 
distinguish  clearly  between  the  world  of  matter 
and  the  world  of  spirit;  but  who  were,  on  the 
contrary,  so  steeped  in  the  material,  that  physical 
and  moral  well-being  were  to  them  identical. 
Beauty,  power,  riches,  honors,  were  their  highest 
goods.  For  these  they  lived  ;  and  as  they  recog- 
nized no  deeper  import  in  life,  the  value  of  their 
existence  rose  and  sank  in  their  eyes  hi  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  these  earthly  advantages  which 
fell  to  their  lot.  The  fate  which  robbed  them  of 
these  could  therefore  rob  them  of  all.  But  very 
few  individuals  had  any  intuitive  perception  of  a 
higher  good,  of  which  even  the  most  relentless 
fate  could  not  deprive  man  without  his  own  con- 
sent. Still  fewer  had  the  courage  to  raise  them- 
selves above  the  power  of  fate  through  their  own 
magnanimity  of  soul.     Those,  however,  who  did 


166  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

bo  awakened  at  that  period  already  the  surprise 
and  the  reverence  of  their  fellow-men  by  the 
heroism  of  their  virtues ;  nay,  the  world  was 
even  inclined  to  place  them  among  the  gods. 

The  views  of  the  Christians  regarding!;  this 
point  are,  however,  very  different  from  those 
of  the  heathens.  Jesus  led  the  human  race  back 
from  the  errors  of  the  imagination  and  the  under- 
standing into  the  paths  of  eternal  truth.  He 
revealed  to  us  the  only  God  as  the  most  perfect 
of  all  beings,  and  as  the  Father  of  spirits,  whom 
we  are  to  worship  in  spirit,  and  not  with  offerings 
and  such  like.  He  revealed  to  us  that  the  whole 
purpose  of  man's  existence  is  not  hedged  in  be- 
tween the  cradle  and  the  grave,  and  he  allowed  us 
to  cast  a  glance  into  the  mysteries  of  eternity. 
He  taught  us  to  hold  light  the  life  on  this  earth, 
because  this  is  not  the  true  sphere  of  our  hap- 
piness. "  In  my  Father's  house,"  said  Jesus, 
"  there  are  many  mansions."  He  taught  us  to 
distinguish  between  the  value  of  earthly  and  of 
heavenly  or  spiritual  things.  "  If  ye  have  but 
wherewithal  to  clothe  and  to  feed  your  bodies," 
said  Jesus,  "  then  be  content.  Lay  not  up  treas- 
ures for  yourselves  on  earth,  but  in  heaven,  and 
seek  before  all  things  the  kingdom  of  God.  Be 
perfect,  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect.  For 
what  availeth  it  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole 
world,  and  he  suffer  damage  in  his  soul  ?  "  He 
taught  that  the  soul  ought  to  have  the  mastery 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  \^ 

over  the  body,  and  pointed  out  the  majesty  of  the 
spirit,  and  its  superiority  over  every  good  this 
earth  can  afford.  He  showed,  in  his  own  life, 
how  a  man  may  rise  above  his  fate,  and  render  it 
powerless  to  affect  him.  He  proved  that  the  pre- 
ordained course  of  things  may  indeed  interfere 
with  our  earthly  concerns,  but  that  it  is  powerless 
to  destroy  our  inward  peace,  or  the  bliss  of  our 
spirits. 

Destiny  or  fate  is  consequently  the  divine  law 
to  which  the  material  world  only  is  subject.  Bod- 
ily health  and  disease,  life  and  death,  the  im- 
provement or  the  decline  in  our  earthly  position, 
the  increase  or  decrease  of  the  consideration  in 
which  we  are  held,  of  our  influence,  or  our 
power,  the  rise  or  fall  of  nations,  victory  or  de- 
feat on  the  field  of  battle, — all  these,  as  things 
earthly,  are  subject  to  the  law  of  destiny  that 
rules  all  terrestrial  matters. 

But  spirits  are  subject  to  a  very  different  law. 
They  do  not  participate  in  the  fate  of  that  which 
pertains  to  earth.  Their  essence  is  freedom, 
their  law  virtue,  their  end  likeness  to  God.  The 
fate  of  the  material  world  only  regards  them  in 
as  far  as  they  are  connected  with  matter.  The 
less  self-dependent  they  are,  the  more  they  incline 
to  earthly  things,  the  more  they  mix  themselves 
up  with  the  sublunary  world,  the  more  also  they 
come  under  the  law  of  destiny.  He  who  places 
himself  under  a  strange  master,  must  submit  to 


168  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

his  yoke.  He  who  resigns  his  freedom  and  his 
self-control,  must  be  content  to  be  treated  as  a 
slave.  Therefore  only  he  who  places  his  happi- 
ness in  outward  things  is  really  unhappy  ;  there- 
fore only  the  follower  of  Christ,  the  true  sage, 
is  really  happy.  To  them  that  love  God,  all 
things  (even  the  apparently  most  terrible)  work 
for  good. 

Spirits  are  subject  to  a  very  different  law  from 
that  which  governs  material  things ;  therefore 
they  suffer  when  they  submit  to  a  foreign  yoke. 
In  so  doing  they  fall  from  their  original  dignity, 
they  become  unfaithful  to  their  calling  ;  they  de- 
sire to  be,  not  exalted  spirits,  but  superior  animals. 
Yet  God  still  loves  them.  The  law  of  destiny 
becomes  their  chastening  rod,  and  drives  them 
back  to  self-knowledge,  urges  them  to  lay  hold 
on  higher  things.  And  through  fearful  disasters 
and  misfortunes  the  voice  of  God  speaks  to  them, 
saying :  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts, 
neither  are  your  ways  my  ways ;  for  as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than 
your  thoughts."     (Isaiah  lv.  8,  9.) 

We  cannot,  indeed,  entirely  dissever  the  bonds 
which  bind  us  to  earth.  Our  place  in  the  scale 
of  spirits  is  still  so  low,  that  we  must  of  necessity 
live  in  immediate  and  close  contact  with  the  infe- 
rior beings  of  the  universe.  But  it  depends  upon 
ourselves  to  rise  to  a  higher  rank  in  the  scale. 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  K39 

To  help  us  to  do  so  Jesus  the  Messiah  was  sent. 
He  came  to  deliver  us  from  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness and  the  bonds  of  death,  which  hold  in  sub- 
jection all  that  is  earthly.  He  came  to  help  us 
reconquer  our  lost  liberty.  But  his  redeeming 
life  will  be  of  no  avail  to  those  who  cannot  deny 
themselves,  who  cannot  renounce  the  world,  who 
cannot,  like  him,  live  a  righteous,  innocent,  and 
unselfish  life.  His  atoning  death  will  prove  of  no 
avail  to  those  who  do  not  possess  spiritual  freedom 
and  magnanimity  of  soul  sufficient  to  wish  to 
please  God  rather  than  man,  and  to  die  as  the 
Saviour  died. 

We  cannot  entirely  emancipate  ourselves  from 
earthly  things  ;  but  we  must  not  allow  ourselves 
to  be  mastered  by  our  love  for  these,  but  maintain 
our  freedom  in  regard  to  them.  We  are  obliged 
and  bound  to  seek  food  for  our  bodies,  but  we 
are  equally  bound  not  to  attach  great  importance 
to  the  gratification  of  our  palates.  We  ought  to 
dress  with  propriety ;  but  we  must  not  allow  our- 
selves to  be  so  far  conquered  by  a  taste  for  out- 
ward show  as  to  feel  unhappy  because  we  may  no 
longer  be  able  to  appear  in  costly  raiment.  Pur- 
ple, velvet,  and  silk  are,  after  all,  not  far  differ- 
ent from  the  winding-sheet  in  which  a  corpse  is 
clothed.  We  ought  to  labor  to  improve  our 
pecuniary  means,  in  order  that  we  ourselves,  as 
well  as  those  who  belong  to  us,  may  be  raised 
above  dependence  upon  the  caprice  of  others,  and 

8 


170  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

that  we  may  be  able  to  contribute  the  more  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  public  welfare  ;  but  we  must 
not  seek  our  greatest  happiness  in  the  accumula- 
tion of  riches,  or  pride  ourselves  upon  possessing 
more  than  others  ;  and  then,  should  our  circum- 
stances ever  be  reduced,  this  will  cause  us  no 
shame  and  no  great  unhappiness.  We  ought  not 
to  despise  the  good  opinion  of  others,  nor  be  in- 
different to  the  influence  we  may  exercise  over 
them  ;  but  we  ought  never  to  seek  consideration 
or  influence  except  through  our  merits  and  our 
virtues.  For  only  in  as  far  as  the  public  consid- 
eration in  which  a  man  is  held,  is  at  the  same  time 
accompanied  by,  and  has  sprung  from,  public  con- 
fidence, can  it  become  a  means  of  doing  much 
good.  But  to  thirst  for  consideration  for  its  own 
sake  only,  to  wish  for  power  merely  for  the  sake 
of  possessing  it,  is  to  mistake  the  path  leading  to 
the  goal  for  the  goal  itself,  to  mistake  the  means 
for  the  end,  the  instrument  for  the  work  it  is 
meant  to  fashion.  To  stand  high  or  low  in  this 
world's  estimation,  to  enjoy  rank  and  titles,  or  to 
have  neither,  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the 
immortal  spirit,  which  knows  that  its  true  dignity 
resides  within  itself,  and  depends  upon  nothing 
outward  ;  and  that,  not  the  distinction  which  is 
bestowed  by  man,  but  the  worth  which  the  spirit 
owes  to  its  own  efforts,  is  indestructible. 

We  cannot  and  must  not  disdain  the  pleasures 
and  joys  of  life.    They  tend  to  refresh  and  enliven 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  yi\ 

our  whole  being.  But  we  must  not  cling  to  them 
with  such  passion,  that  when  they  pass  away  we 
feel  as  though  we  must  pass  away  with  them. 
We  must  love  the  objects  of  our  affection,  friends, 
parents,  or  children,  with  such  tenderness  as  is 
natural  to  refined  souls.  But  we  ouodit  not  to 
forget  that  it  is  not  then'  body  that  we  love,  — 
this  will  grow  old  and  die,  —  but  their  spirit.  We 
should  ever  bear  in  mind  that  their  last  hour  on 
earth  will  and  must  come,  but  that  all-ruling  des- 
tiny cannot  separate  the  spirit  from  the  spirit,  but 
only  the  body  from  the  body.  He  who  founds 
his  highest  happiness  on  the  life -breath  of  a  mor- 
tal, founds  it  on  a  frail  thing  indeed.  He  who 
does  not  regard  the  universe  as  his  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther's house,  who  does  not  recognize  the  spirit  as 
the  object  of  his  love,  who  does  not  see  in  immor- 
tality the  guaranty  of  his  happiness,  let  him  be- 
ware of  tender  affection,  if  he  would  not  love 
that  which  would  destroy  him,  if  he  would  not 
be  the  victim  of  a  fearful  destiny.  For  what  he 
loves  must  one  day  become  dust  and  ashes. 

Raise  yourselves  above  dust  and  ashes,  ye 
chosen  of  God,  ye  followers  of  Christ !  Enjoy 
the  goods  of  this  world,  as  sweet,  fleeting,  tran- 
sient gifts,  but  lay  up  your  treasures  in  heaven  ! 
Pluck  the  blooming  rose,  but  forget  not  that  to- 
morrow it  will  be  withered  and  faded.  Live  with 
what  is  earthly,  not  in  it,  but  in  yourselves.  Ac- 
cept of  every  pleasure,  but  do  not  give  yourselves 


172  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

up  to  it.  Despise  neither  honors,  nor  dignities, 
nor  riches,  but  do  not  sacrifice  to  them  even  the 
least  of  your  higher  duties ;  let  the  gifts  of  for- 
tune be  to  you  mere  accidental  advantages,  for 
they  cannot  forever  belong  to  you,  and  you  belong 
still  less  to  them.  He  who  acknowledges  no  mas- 
ter but  himself,  his  virtues,  and  his  God,  is  master 
of  all  things  ;  he  is  further  removed  than  other 
men  from  the  sorrows  of  this  earth,  and  over  him 
destiny  holds  no  sway.  He  may  be  poor,  despised, 
persecuted ;  he  may  lose  his  fortune,  his  comforts, 
his  friends,  the  consideration  in  which  he  was  held 
by  others  ;  but  his  inward  contentment,  his  holy 
pride  in  his  own  worth,  he  need  never  lose.  He 
is  raised  above  fate.  It  is  not  to  the  world  he 
owes  his  inward  peace  and  happiness,  and  the 
world  cannot  rob  him  of  them. 

But  to  whom  am  I  saying  this  ?  Who  recog- 
nizes the  eternal  truth  of  Jesus's  words,  "  But 
seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right- 
eousness, and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto 
you"?  (Matt.  vi.  33.)  O,  they  have  eyes  and 
see  not,  they  have  ears  and  hear  not !  The  great 
majority  of  men  are  absorbed  in  their  earthly 
needs,  and  have  no  conception  of  higher  wants. 
They  believe  in  God,  but  bear  no  love  to  that 
which  is  Divine  ;  they  pray  to  God,  but  are  the 
slaves  of  their  own  passions.  They  honor  virtue, 
yet  act  viciously.  They  believe  in  immortality, 
yet  give    themselves    entirely  up  to  this  world. 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  173 

They  desire  happiness,  yet  fly  from  it.  They 
cannot  gainsay  the  truth,  yet  cling  to  the  delu- 
sions of  their  senses.  They  claim  to  be  men,  and 
superior  beings,  yet  are  content  to  remain  nothing 
more  than  animals.  They  complain  of  the  cruelty 
of  fate,  yet  will  not  raise  themselves  above  it  by 
magnanimity  of  soul.  They  remain  miserable,  un- 
happy, in  conflict  with  everything  that  surrounds 
them,  and  with  themselves.  They  seek  a  means 
of  escape,  and  find  it  not.  The  voice  of  God  is 
loud  in  their  hearts,  yet  they  refuse  to  follow 
it.  They  deserve  their  misery,  for  it  is  their 
own  choice.  Therefore  saith  the  Lord :  "  Your 
thoughts  are  not  my  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways.  For  as  the  heavens  (and  all  spir- 
itual things)  are  higher  than  the  earth,  (and  all 
that  is  earthly,)  so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your 
ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts." 

But  to  whom  do  I  recall  this  ?  To  the  nations  ? 
Ah  !  behold  their  misery  !  This  misery  is  the 
proof  of  their  errors.  How  petty  are  the  aims 
of  all,  or  at  least  the  greater  number  of  the  indi- 
viduals who  constitute  the  nations  ?  What  fruits 
can  we  expect  from  such  seed  ?  What  concord 
is  there  among  them  when  the  common  danger  is 
past  ?  Where  is  their  friendship  when  their  self- 
interest  is  touched  ?  Where  is  their  patriotism 
when  their  individual  advantage  is  at  stake  ? 
Where  is  their  moderation  in  prosperity?  Why 
do  they  cherish  in  their  own  hearts  that  arrogance 
which  they  dislike  so  much  in  others  ?     Why  do 


174  ETERNAL  DESTINY. 

they  complain  of  that  pride  in  others  which  they 
do  not  overcome  in  themselves  ?  Why  do  they 
boast  of  the  reverence  they  feel  for  the  rights  of 
nations,  and  yet  attack  these  whenever  it  can  be 
done  without  danger  to  themselves  ?  Why  do 
they  praise  honesty,  and  yet  seek  to  overreach 
others  ?  Ah  !  they  have  witnessed  the  effects 
of  disunion,  arrogance,  and  injustice ;  they  have 
heard  the  warnings  of  universal  history,  but  their 
hearts  are  hardened.  They  had  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  but  they  preferred  to  believe  in  their 
own  falsities  and  follies.  In  the  hour  of  need 
they  raised  aloft  the  banner  of  virtue  to  save 
themselves  from  destruction,  but  when  the  dan- 
ger was  over  they  deserted  the  sacred  banner  to 
prepare  for  themselves  new  misery.  Thus  let  it 
be.  Your  fate  is  sealed.  You  cannot  escape  your 
destiny,  for  you  have  brought  it  upon  yourselves. 
"  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,"  saith  the 
Lord,  "  neither  are  my  ways  your  ways  ;  but  as 
the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my 
ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts 
than  yours." 

Among  thousands,  however,  there  may  per- 
haps be  one  who  recognizes  God's  thoughts  and 
ways  in  the  decrees  of  destiny  ;  there  may  be  one 
to  whom  his  inward  being,  the  consciousness  of 
innocence,  and  the  peace  of  God,  are  of  more 
value  than  all  outward  goods  ;  one  who  has  given 
himself  entirely  to  Christ,  who  acknowledges  him, 
not  in  the  performances  of  church  ceremonies,  but 


ETERNAL  DESTINY.  175 

in  mmd  and  heart,  in  willing  and  acting,  in  self- 
abnegation  and  self-control.  All !  thou  only  one 
among  thousands,  thou  art  the  happiest,  because 
thee  no  destiny  can  assail.  Thou  art  raised 
above  every  earthly  fate. 

O,  I  also,  I  also  will  strive  for  this  peace,  will 
seek  to  attain  this  height !  I  will  be  thy  brother, 
Jesus  !  Saviour  !  Thou  didst  enjoy  divine  happi- 
ness, though  the  world  reviled  thee.  Thy  perse- 
cutors were  seated  upon  thrones,  and  yet  were 
slaves  of  their  brutal  passions  ;  but  thou  wert  a 
prince  of  life,  a  conqueror  of  death,  and  the  power 
of  destiny  could  not  terrify  thee.  The  cross  on 
Golgotha  was  thy  trophy  of  victory ;  the  crown 
of  thorns  was  thy  crown  of  triumph. 

I  will  strive  in  spirit  to  reach  thy  elevation, 
and  the  power  of  God  will  be  mighty  in  me  in 
spite  of  my  weakness.  I  will  accomplish  it,  I 
will  be  sole  master  of  myself,  I  will  control  my 
feelings  and  my  tendencies,  so  that  I  allow  my- 
self nothing  but  what  is  right,  true,  and  useful ; 
so  that  I  accept  whatever  the  earth  offers  me  that 
is  beautiful  and  good,  but  without  forfeiting  in 
return  my  peace  or  the  mastery  over  myself;  so 
that  my  inward  freedom  be  not  restrained  by  any 
outward  fetters ;  so  that  I  may  be  rich  even  in 
poverty,  and  exalted  even  though  of  lowly  es- 
tate ;  so  that  I  may  belong  to  thee,  O  Jesus,  and 
to  all  pure  and  noble  spirits.  I  must,  I  will  ac- 
complish this  !  O  Spirit  of  God,  strengthen  my 
determination  !    Amen  !     I  shall  succeed.    Amen. 


THE    DESTINATION    OF   MAN. 


Let  the  song  of  victory  sound, 

Christ  for  us  has  won  the  day, 
(Us,  who  to  the  grave  were  bound,) 

And  chased  the  night  of  death  away. 
Nobly  hath  the  work  been  wrought, 
And  for  us  the  victory  bought. 

With  what  a  noontide  brightness,  Lord, 

Are  His  promises  displayed  ; 
How  shines  the  truth  of  Heaven's  word, 

Man's  soul  is  immortal  made, 
And  before  God's  awful  throne 
Virtue  shall  receive  the  crown. 

Sing  not  solemn  dirges  sadly 

By  the  graves  where  good  men  lie ; 

For  their  spirits,  brother,  gladly 
Wander  in  infinity : 

Christ  for  all  hath  victory  gained, 

And  the  tyrant,  death,  enchained. 

(2  Cor.  iv.  17,  18.) 

'ESUS  CHRIST,  our  Lord,  revealed  to 
us  in  his  own  life  on  earth,  as  in  a  mir- 
ror, what  we  are,  and  what  we  ought  to 
be.  I  recognize  in  him  what  I  ought  to 
be.  From  the  hour  of  his  birth  in  the  humble 
manger,  until  that  of  his  glorification  after  his 
descent  into  the  tomb,  his  life  was  a  solemn  in- 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  177 

dlcation  of  what  the  Deity  wills  that  man  should 
be.  In  obscurity  and  lowliness  he  was  born, 
that  we  might  learn  that  neither  family  descent 
nor  rank,  neither  riches  nor  pomp,  invest  man 
with  a  nobility  that  has  any  worth  in  the  sight  of 
God.  He  died  poor ;  a  stranger  lent  the  site  for 
the  interment  of  his  body,  that  we  might  learn 
that  our  destination  on  earth  is  not  to  lay  up  vain 
treasures  and  to  attach  ourselves  to  the  things 
that  are  seen,  but  to  strive  after  those  things  which 
are  not  seen.  Nowhere  do  the  Holy  Scriptures 
tell  us,  that  in  the  course  of  his  life  Jesus  advanced 
in  worldly  honors  and  riches  ;  but  they  do  tell  us 
that  with  years  he  increased  in  wisdom,  and  in 
knowledge  of  things  divine.  His  beneficent  life- 
task  was  to  render  men  happy ;  he  came  to  re- 
deem mortals  from  falsehood  and  sin,  and  his 
spirit  embraced  in  its  love  and  mercy  not  only  his 
contemporaries,  but  all  those  who  should  be  born 
thousands  of  years  after  him.  And  he  as  little 
neglected  the  least  means  of  doing  good  as  the 
greatest.  He  healed  the  blind  and  the  lame,  and 
succored  the  helpless.  All  this  took  place  that 
we  might  learn,  that  our  task  in  life  is  not  only  to 
attend  to  our  business  vocations,  to  take  care  that 
our  families  increase  in  rank  and  riches,  but  to 
grow  perfect  in  every  virtue,  to  improve  in  wis- 
dom and  in  knowledge  of  God.  For  the  good  of 
mankind  he  met  death,  died  wholly  resigned  to 
the  will  of  God;  his  spirit  rose  above  the  most 

8*  L 


178  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN. 

galling  indignities,  —  above  the  severest  mental 
pangs  which  ingratitude  and  treachery  could  in- 
flict, —  above  the  most  cruel  physical  sufferings, 
when,  exhausted  by  hunger,  thirst,  and  ill-treat- 
ment, he  sank  down  bleeding  on  the  way  to  Gol- 
gotha ;  or  when,  nailed  to  the  cross  and  jeered 
at  by  the  multitude,  he  wrestled  with  death.  But 
glorious  was  his  triumph  beyond  the  tomb  ;  and 
all  this  was  in  order  that  we  might  learn  that 
not  earthly  well-being,  not  the  enjoyment  of  the 
pleasures  of  this  world,  are  the  purposes  of  our 
life  ;  that  neither  want  nor  suffering  ought  to 
deaden  in  us  our  love  of  the  Divine,  but  that, 
whatever  fate  befall  us,  the  eye  of  the  spirit  ought 
to  be  directed  towards  eternity,  where  the  palm 
of  victory  and  of  glory  awaits  us  when  the  death- 
struggle  is  over.  "  For,"  say  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, "  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a 
moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  While  we  look  not 
at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things 
which  are  not  seen ;  for  the  things  which  are 
seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which  are  not 
seen  are  eternal."     (2  Cor.  iv.  17,  18.) 

The  day  of  victory  of  Him  who  has  arisen  from 
the  dead  reminds  me  of  my  future  day  of  vic- 
tory, of  my  higher  destination. 

But  what  is  the  destination  of  man  ?  As  yet 
the  idea  is  not  quite  clear  to  me.  To  many,  I 
know,  the  purpose   of  life  is  a  riddle,  and  more 


THE   DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  179 

especially  to  those  who  look  at  the  things  which 
are  seen.  Are  we  here  that  we  may  enjoy  hap- 
piness and  well-being  in  connection  with  virtuous 
sentiments  ?  ask  many.  But  how  few  persons 
enjoy  unmixed  happiness  in  a  world  where  each 
hour  brings  an  alternation  of  pleasure  and  pain ; 
where  one  moment  we  are  called  to  share  the 
sorrows  of  others,  the  next  we  are  made  to  groan 
under  physical  suffering,  or  to  yield  up  our  dear- 
est wishes  ?  Or  how  can  the  happiness  that  flows 
from  virtuous  sentiments  and  acts  be  ours,  when 
each  day  we  rise,  like  Peter,  with  the  noblest 
resolves,  and  yet  end  it  with  laments  over  our 
own  weakness  ? 

What  is  the  purpose  for  which  God  called  me 
into  being  ?  Am  I  born  merely  to  be  the  play- 
thing of  an  hour,  to  fill  for  unknown  ends  a  brief 
existence,  extending  only  from  the  cradle  to  the 
grave,  or  to  serve  the  purposes  of  other  beings  to 
me  unknown,  who  may  be  amused  at  my  mirth 
or  my  tears  ?  Shall  I  sink  down,  and  fade  away 
forever,  in  old  age,  like  the  flowers  of  the  garden, 
like  the  tree  of  the  forest,  like  the  lion  in  the 
desert,  or  like  an  ephemeral  insect  ?  How  can  I 
reconcile  such  an  idea  as  this  with  the  conception 
of  the  infinite  perfection  of  God?  Why  do  I 
bear  within  me  a  lively  consciousness  of  being  in 
myself  an  end,  not  a  means,  —  a  consciousness 
which  makes  me  feel  that  I  exist  for  my  own 
sake,  and  that  I  am,  as  it  were,  a  central  point  of 


180  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN. 

the  universe  which  I  behold  around  me  ?  Why- 
do  I  see  before  me  high,  aims  to  attain  which 
would  be  impossible  in  this  short  existence,  while 
other  creatures  have  no  more  qualities  than  are 
necessary  to  sustain  their  earthly  life,  to  provide 
themselves  with  food,  and  to  avoid  pain  and 
danger  ? 

Thus  even  our  unaided  reason  points  to  con- 
tradictions which  would  necessarily  arise,  were 
we  to  suppose  that  our  destination  is  comprised 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  this  life. 

But  we  know  that  man  is  spirit,  and  that  the 
body  is  ashes,  and  only  a  vestment  and  instrument 
used  by  the  spirit  in  this  temporal  existence,  for 
the  enjoyment  of  what  is  earthly.  The  body,  or 
the  animal  envelope  of  our  spirits,  changes  as 
years  accumulate  on  our  heads ;  the  spirit  in- 
creases in  knowledge,  but  nevertheless  feels  that 
it  is  still  the  same  that  it  has  been  since  the  first 
awakening  of  consciousness.  The  body  clings 
tenaciously  to  the  earth  from  which  it  came  ;  the 
spirit  never  finds  rest  on  earth,  is  never  content 
with  what  it  has  attained,  but  when  one  wish  is 
satisfied  longs  for  the  fulfilment  of  another,  and 
again  another,  and  so  on  without  end. 

The  spirit,  therefore,  is  the  most  essential  and 
the  enduring  part  of  man  ;  that  which  is  unseen 
and  eternal  constitutes  its  life,  not  that  which  is 
seen,  or  which  is  perishable ;  its  origin  is  divine, 
it  springs  not  from  earth.     And  as  the   body  will 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  181 

one  day  return  to  its  mother  earth,  so  will  the 
spirit  return  to  the  Divine  bosom  whence  it  ema- 
nated. 

If  my  spirit  be  the  essential  part  of  me,  then, 
when  I  speak  of  the  destination  of  man,  the  ques- 
tion can  only  be  as  to  the  purpose  for  which  his 
spirit  was  created  ;  about  the  body  there  can  be 
no  question.  This  is  only  a  subordinate  power 
existing  for  the  sake  of  the  spirit.  And,  again, 
if  there  be  a  question  of  the  spirit,  it  can  only  be 
as  to  its  vocation  during  an  infinitely  prolonged 
existence.  But  how  can  I  know  what  ends  the 
Deity  has  in  view  for  it  after  the  hour-  of  death 
in  this  world  ?  So  far  my  eye  does  not  reach. 
And  yet  the  voices  of  nature,  of  reason,  and  of 
revelation  proclaim  with  wonderful  harmony  what 
I  shall  be  hereafter,  and  what  I  am  to  hope  for. 

What  is  the  lichen  on  the  rock,  the  oak-tree 
on  the  mountain-side,  the  eagle  in  the  air,  intend- 
ed to  be  ?  Nothing  more  or  less  than  what  they 
are,  and  what  alone  they  can  be,  in  accordance 
with  the  peculiar  powers  or  forces  implanted 
in  them  by  the  Creator :  moss,  oak,  and  eagle  ! 
Thus  also  the  spirit,  which  conceives  of  God, 
shall  become  that  which,  in  accordance  with  the 
special  powers  implanted  in  it,  it  may,  through 
the  infinite  periods  of  its  existence,  raise  itself  to 
be,  viz.  a  being  who  through  endless  self-improve- 
ment is  ever  drawing  nearer  to  God ;  an  essence 
higher  than  a  thousand  other  subordinate  forces 


182  THE  DESTINATION   OF  MAN. 

that  live  and  act  in  this  world,  and  living  and 
acting  independently  of  these,  but  understanding 
them  and  governing  them,  and  growing  without 
cessation  in  knowledge  which  will  reveal  to  it  the 
greatness  of  God  and  the  grandeur  of  creation, 
in  ever  clearer  and  more  enrapturing  light.  This 
is  the  eternal,  the  all-important  glory  that  awaits 
us  ;  i.  e.  those  among  us  who  look,  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which 
are  not  seen.  This  is  the  object  of  the  vague 
yearnings  within  our  souls  ;  this  is  the  meaning 
of  that  commandment  of  the  glorified  Saviour, 
wherein  he  disclosed  the  true  destination  of  man, 
"  Be  ye  perfect,  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is  per- 
fect."    (Matt.  v.  48.) 

To  become  like  unto  God  is  then  my  destina- 
tion, —  to  let  my  spirit  grow  in  the  divine  likeness 
through  infinite  progression.  The  truth  of  this, 
first  revealed  to  me  through  Jesus,  is  confirmed 
by  my  reason  and  by  my  experience  of  life  on 
earth.  For  even  the  things  of  this  world  all  im- 
pel me  in  that  direction.  All  things  encourage 
the  spirit  to  extend  its  mastery  over  that  which  is 
merely  sensual,  and  to  hold  this  in  contempt,  — 
to  elevate  itself  above  the  chances  of  outward 
circumstances  and  of  fate.  To  do  this  is  to  grow 
in  likeness  to  God.  For  in  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge, as  in  supreme  happiness-diffusing  influence 
on  the  universe,  and  in  perfect  independence  of 
fate,  God  is  infinitely  great  and  exalted.     Life  on 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  183 

earth  is  given  to  train  the  spirit  for  its  sublime 
destination ;  but  this  training  is  not  completed 
here,  but  will  continue  without  ceasing  in  far 
distant  spheres  of  life,  while  our  happiness  will 
increase  with  our  perfection. 

All  things  stimulate  the  spirit  to  extend  its 
knowledge  and  wisdom.  Even  for  this  man  is 
born  naked  and  defenceless,  that  he  may  exert 
and  develop  his  mind  in  efforts  for  his  own  suste- 
nance and  protection.  The  animal  enters  life  ready 
clothed,  and  provided  with  natural  weapons  of  de- 
fence, and  with  unconscious  instincts  to  seek  the 
herbage,  fruit,  or  carrion  which  it  requires  for  its 
nourishment,  and  which  it  finds  at  once.  Thou- 
sands of  years  have  passed  since  the  creation  and 
peopling  of  this  globe.  The  animals  have  made 
no  progress  in  knowledge  or  wisdom.  Not  so 
man,  who  is  ever  impelled  forwards  by  the  wants 
and  sufferings  and  cravings  of  his  nature.  At 
first  he  lived  in  caverns,  next  in  huts  built  of  the 
boughs  of  trees,  then  in  well-contrived,  comfort- 
able, self-invented  dwellings.  At  first  his  hands 
and  nails,  next  rude  wooden  and  stone  imple- 
ments, were  his  only  aids  ;  then  he  descended 
into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  brought  forth 
thence  the  numerous  metals  which  doubled  his 
strength,  and  helped  him  to  subjugate  the  animals. 
The  tiger  was  then  no  longer  too  strong  for  him, 
nor  the  fox  too  cunning,  nor  the  eagle  too  far 
above  him  in  the  air.     At  first  he  clung  timidly 


184  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN 

to  the  spot  of  earth  where  he  was  born  ;  but  soon 
he  roamed  into  other  regions,  learnt  to  communi- 
cate his  thoughts  through  means  of  artificial  tones, 
and  acquired  a  knowledge  of  foreign  languages  ; 
and  next  he  crossed  the  wide  ocean  from  one 
quarter  of  the  globe  to  another,  and  by  means  of 
written  symbols  communed  with  friends  dwelling 
in  far  distant  lands  which  his  own  foot  had  never 
trodden.  At  first  he  trembled  at  the  thunder  of 
the  clouds,  and  gazed  with  vague  wonder  only  at 
the  stars  of  heaven ;  subsequently  the  idea  of  a 
Deity  took  birth  in  him.  He  sought  the  Deity ; 
but  in  the  commencement  worshipped  him  in  the 
thunder,  the  fire,  and  the  stars.  Then  he  began 
to  conceive  that  neither  of  these  were  God,  but 
only  created  things,  and  he  prayed  to  the  Unseen, 
—  until,  when  mankind  had  become  capable  of 
receiving  it,  the  full  light  was  given  through 
Jesus  Christ. 

And  thus  the  human  spirit,  driven  by  the  ne- 
cessities of  life,  progressed  without  ceasing  from 
invention  to  invention,  from  knowledge  to  knowl- 
edge. That  which  in  the  present  day  is  known 
to  every  youth,  would,  thousands  of  years  ago, 
have  excited  the  wonder  of  the  most  experienced 
sage.  What  will  mankind  be  after  another  six 
thousand  years  of  progressive  knowledge  ? 

Already  we  know  the  immeasurable  magnitude 
of  the  universe,  the  size  and  orbits  of  the  heav- 
enly bodies  in  closest  proximity  to  us,  the  plains, 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  185 

and  mountains,  and  the  light  that  clothes  the 
moon,  the  sun,  and  the  distant  planets  ;  the  won- 
derful powers  of  the  atmosphere,  of  light  and  of 
innumerable  other  works  of  nature.  But  God 
the  All-wise  knows  all,  while  the  wisest  of  mor- 
tals as  yet  knows  only  a  drop  in  the  ocean  of  the 
universe.  To  grow  like  unto  God  is  the  desti- 
nation of  the  spirit. 

Towards  this  the  whole  organization  of  the 
universe  is  impelling  us.  Everything  incites  us 
to  extend  our  dominion  over  the  world  of  sense, 
and  tends  to  develop  the  consciousness  of  our 
superior  dignity  as  spirits,  as  feeble  images  of 
God.  The  will  of  the  spirit,  and  the  desires  and 
instincts  of  the  flesh,  or  of  our  sensual  nature,  are 
in  constant  conflict.  This  is  the  twofold  law  with- 
in us,  of  which  Paul  the  Apostle  speaks.  In  the 
flesh  originate  all  tendencies  to  sin,  to  pride,  to 
envy,  to  revenge,  to  luxury ;  in  the  spirit  origi- 
nate our  longings  after  holiness,  our  yearnings 
for  the  divine,  the  unseen,  and  stable.  In  vain 
the  feeble  spirit  seeks  contentment  in  the  tempo- 
ral ;  it  is  ever  repelled  by  the  latter,  and  thrown 
back  upon  itself.  In  vain  the  spirit,  forgetting  its 
dignity  and  destination,  seeks  its  happiness  in  the 
gifts  of  this  life.  Beauty  and  strength  perish ; 
fame  is  overshadowed ;  luxury  creates  disease ; 
riches  and  earthly  goods  are  ever  changing  hands, 
and  cannot  follow  us  beyond  the  grave  ;  parents, 
friends,  husbands,  wives,  children,  all  die,  none 


186  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN. 

remain,  nothing  on  earth  can  secure  to  us  lasting 
happiness.  All  things  impel  us  to  turn  away  from 
the  seen  to  the  unseen ! 

Sin  is  spiritual  slavery,  virtue  spiritual  freedom. 
Sin  is  dominion  of  the  flesh,  virtue  is  dominion 
of  the  spirit.  In  vain  the  spirit  would  forget  that 
it  is  free,  and  ought  to  govern  the  desires  aris- 
ing out  of  its  earthly  nature  ;  in  vain  it  would  be 
at  ease,  and  avoid  exertions  and  conflicts,  give 
itself  up  to  sensual  well-being,  and  seek  no  higher 
wisdom  than  to  elude  that  which  is  disagreeable, 
and  to  secure  the  enjoyment  of  that  which  is 
exciting,  pleasurable,  and  honorable  in  ordinary 
social  life ;  in  vain  it  resists  the  warnings  of  con- 
science ;  in  spite  of  all,  the  entire  order  of  the 
universe,  which  is  but  a  great  school  of  spirits, 
incites  us  again  and  again  to  reassert  our  domin- 
ion over  sensual  influences,  and  to  hold  light  all 
that  is  of  this  earth.  For  every  sin  is  followed 
by  its  own  peculiar  punishment.  Deceit  is  fol- 
lowed by  fear  of  detection,  dissoluteness  by  pain- 
ful diseases,  intemperance  by  enervation.  For 
the  spirit  there  is  neither  rest  nor  peace,  until  it 
has  conquered  all  the  passions  that  war  against  it, 
until  it  has  learnt  to  be  just,  truthful,  indepen- 
dent of  base  prejudices  and  sensual  desires,  and 
has  found  the  highest  bliss  in  the  consciousness 
of  virtue.     This  is  beino;  like  unto  God. 

For  this  purpose,  the  spirit  is  further  impelled 
by  everything  that  surrounds  it  to  look  at  all  mat- 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  187 

ters  from  a  proper  point  of  view,  and  to  jud^e 
and  apply  them  accordingly ;  every  error  of  judg- 
ment entails  suffering.     Towards  this  likeness  to 
God   everything   impels   it   until  it  is    not   only 
raised  above  the  enchantment  of  the  senses,  but 
above  the  power  of  fate.     The  various  fortunes 
that  befall  men  are   but  God's  missionaries  sent 
to    instruct   and    improve ;    they   are    connected 
with    earthly   matters    only.      When   avalanches 
fall,  when    nations  are   subjugated   or   liberated, 
when  flames  devour  houses  and  other  property, 
and  war  lays  countries  waste,  when  illness  comes 
upon  us  without  any  fault  of  our  own,  and  friends 
breathe  their  last  in  our  arms,  —  all  these  events 
affect  us  in  our  earthly  connections  only.     The 
more  independent  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  is 
of  all  earthly  things,  the  more  exalted  he  is  above 
the  events  connected  with  them.     He  may  be  rich 
or  poor,  be  living  in  superfluity  or  in  want,  may 
meet  with  friendship  or  with  persecution ;  but  in 
none  of  these  cases  is  there  anything  that  can  im- 
pair his  love  of  Christ,  of  virtue,  and  of  the  Deity. 
The  world  can  give  him  nothing  which  he  is  not 
willing  patiently  to  resign  again.     Life  itself  has 
not  more  value  in  his  eyes  than  duty.     He  fears 
not  death ;  and  he  who  fears  not  death,  nor  pov- 
erty, nor  the  judgments  of  men,  what  power  can 
fate  have  over  him  ?     He  is  a  spirit  like  God ;  he 
bears  his  happiness,  his  highest  good,  within  him- 
self,  and  no   fate  can  destroy  it.     Like    unto   a 


188  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN. 

divinity  lie  stands  above  all  the  storms  of  life, 
fearing  them  not  in  the  consciousness  of  his  inno- 
cence  and  his  righteousness.  This  is  to  be  like 
unto  God  ;  this  is  the  destination  of  man ! 

And  to  this  destination,  which  I  am  to  reach 
through  endless  progress,  I  ought,  I  can,  and  I 
will  draw  nearer  here  on  earth  already.  Jesus 
walked  the  earth  in  human  form,  and  endowed 
with  human  qualities ;  and  yet  he  extended  his 
knowledge  of  divine  things,  and  he  conquered 
his  earthly  desires,  and  rose  above  his  fate.  He 
had  friends  ;  he  loved  the  tender-hearted  disciple 
that  rested  his  head  on  his  bosom ;  nevertheless, 
his  soul  did  not  cling  exclusively  and  passionately 
to  individuals.  "  All  men  and  women,"  said  he, 
"  are  my  brothers  and  sisters."  He  was  not  in- 
different to  the  good  things  of  this  world ;  he  was 
present  at  the  marriage-feast  in  Cana,  and  did  not 
refuse  the  costly  ointment  offered  to  him  as  a  gift 
by  a  pious,  reverent,  and  grateful  heart ;  never- 
theless, he  renounced  every  sensual  enjoyment 
without  a  sigh ;  often  he  had  no  place  to  lay  his 
head,  and  he  made  no  effort  to  avoid  death  when 
duty  bade  him  give  his  life  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners.  But  a  day  of  victory  awaits  all  godlike 
spirits,  and  he  was  glorified  beyond  the  grave. 

If  this  be  the  destination  of  man,  then  woe  is 
me,  for  how  often  have  I  not  forgotten  it !  Woe 
is  the  world,  for  what  confusion  of  mind  does  there 
not  reign  therein !     Can  it  be  that  nature,  and 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN.  189 

reason,  and  revelation  have  ceased  to  have  a 
meaning,  and  that  Jesus,  the  Saviour,  has  not 
risen  from  the  dead  ?  For  I  see  men  busy  about 
all  other  matters,  but  not  thinking  of  those  things 
which  are  not  seen.  They  sacrifice  pleasure, 
health,  and  life  for  the  attainment  of  other 
things,  but  not  to  improve  in  spirit,  to  grow  in 
likeness  to  God.  They  pride  themselves  upon 
their  cleverness ;  the  one  claims  to  excel  the 
other  herein ;  each  is  anxious  to  turn  time  and 
circumstances  cunningly  to  his  own  advantage  ; 
but  who  is  there  that  aspires  towards  that  mag- 
nanimity of  spirit  that  enables  a  man  to  rise  above 
fate,  above  time  and  circumstances,  above  hope 
and  fear? 

Alas  !  and  when  I  look  at  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple, what  spiritual  darkness  do  I  behold !  A  deep 
yearning  for  divine  things  there  is  in  all  hearts ; 
to  all  religion  is  something  sacred,  the  eyes  of  all 
are  turned  to  heaven,  all  seek  to  penetrate  the 
mysterious  depths  of  eternity;  but  what  a  mel- 
ancholy idea  they  form  of  their  destination,  what 
an  unworthy  conception  of  the  Majesty  of  God. 
They  believe  that  they  can  purchase  their  rise  in 
the  scale  of  beings  with  senseless  prayers  and 
church  ceremonies,  while  living  as  slaves  of  their 
animal  nature.  Here  on  earth  they  would  lead 
a  life  of  luxury,  and  for  their  fate  in  the  next 
world  they  would  rely  on  the  intercession  of 
saints,  or  on  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ.     Thus, 


190  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN 

they  think,  they  will  obtain  their  glorification. 
They  would  fain  enjoy  their  heaven  here  below, 
believing  that  their  good  deeds  and  their  prayers 
are  quite  worthy  of  a  heavenly  reward.  They 
do  good  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  recompense, 
and  avoid  evil  merely  from  fear  of  punishment. 
Their  conception  of  heaven  is  that  of  an  ever- 
enduring  life  of  sensual  enjoyment.  And  all 
these  errors  are  disseminated  by  the  help  of  un- 
principled persons,  who  allow  themselves  to  be 
called  priests  of  the  Almighty  God,  and  teachers 
of  the  doctrines  of  Jesus ;  and  magistrates  see 
the  deplorable  ignorance  of  the  people,  and  look 
on  with  indifference,  neglecting  their  duty  to  in- 
troduce better  educational  institutions,  so  that  the 
knowledge  of  Divine  things  might  be  spread  even 
among  the  humblest  classes.  Is  it  possible  that 
mankind  has  so  completely  forgotten  its  high 
destination,  that  not  even  a  vague  and  dream-like 
remembrance  of  it  survives  ?  Is  not  Christ  risen, 
who  preached,  "  Be  perfect,  as  your  Father  in 
heaven  is  perfect !';  But  if  we  do  not  despair 
of  our  destination,  and  have  not  lost  our  belief  in 
the  truth  of  God,  why  do  we  live  as  though  there 
were  no  eternity  ?  Why  do  we  form  to  ourselves 
an  image  of  the  Highest  Being,  far  less  noble  and 
exalted  than  we  would  form  of  a  human  being 
who  was  described  to  us  as  just,  and  incorrupti- 
ble, and  wise  ? 

Jesus,  they  honor  thee  with  their  lips,  but  their 


THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN  191 

hearts  are  estranged  from  thee.  They  make 
themselves  preachers  of  thy  holy  word,  not  be- 
cause they  desire  to  follow  thee,  but  in  order  to 
secure  to  themselves  the  comforts  of  life  !  They 
make  themselves  dependent  upon  outward  cir- 
cumstances, upon  narrow-minded  prejudices,  and 
petty  desires  ;  they,  who  as  eternal  spirits  ought 
to  be  exalted,  as  thou  wert  once,  above  the  unal- 
terable laws  that  rule  all  earthly  matters !  Not 
all  do  this  it  is  true  !  —  Yet  the  number  of  thy 
true  confessors  and  followers  is,  alas  !  but  very 
small. 

Jesus,  my  divine  example  in  life,  in  suffering, 
and  in  death,  I  celebrate  to-day  in  my  heart  the 
festival  of  thy  victory  and  glorification,  —  may  it 
be  also  the  festival  of  the  victory  of  my  spirit  over 
all  sensual  influences.  I  recognize  the  purpose  for 
which  I  was  created,  and  the  thought  of  it  fills 
me  with  holy  rapture.  As  thou  earnest  forth 
from  the  grave,  so  will  I  come  forth  from  my 
errors,  and  enter  into  a  higher  spiritual  life  ;  so 
will  I  come  forth  from  the  slavery  of  my  passions, 
and  enjoy  liberty  and  mastery  over  myself.  And 
not  content  with  doing  this,  I  will  endeavor  to 
awaken  others  also  to  a  recognition  of  their  ex- 
alted destination  ;  I  will  strive  to  make  my  fellow- 
men  feel  their  sublime  vocation  ;  I  will  praise  thy 
greatness,  O  Father  in  heaven,  in  my  home,  in 
the  circle  of  those  with  whom  thou  hast  linked 
me  together  here   on   earth ;  and   by  my  senti- 


192  THE  DESTINATION  OF  MAN. 

ments,  words,  and  deeds  I  will  endeavor  to  prove 
and  to  make  acceptable  to  all  the  truth,  that  amid 
the  things  which  we  see  is  not  our  lasting  home, 
but  amid  the  things  which  we  do  not  see,  in  the 
abodes  of  Eternity.  That  neither  riches,  nor 
rank,  nor  fame,  nor  other  fleeting  goods  of  this 
life,  but  self-improvement,  growth  in  likeness  to 
God,  ought  to  be  the  great  object  of  every  spirit, 
in  order  that  "  we  may  be  perfect,  as  our  Father 
in  heaven  is  perfect."     Amen. 


IMMORTALITY. 


How  shall  I  know  myself  for  joy,  the  change  how  understand, 
When  God  himself  shall  take  me  hence  to  his  own  better  land  1 
What  different  names  the  things  will  bear  which  once  I  deemed 

Divine, 
When  in  that  bright-and  blessed  home  God's  glories  round  me  shine. 

As  there  is  but  one  Lord  of  all,  one  God  who  reigns  in  heaven, 
So  unto  all  created  things  one  life  alone  is  given ; 
And  through  creation's  wide  domain  for  death  we  find  no  place  ; 
The  law  of  change  prevails  for  all, — extinction  none  can  trace : 
I  know  my  soul  shall  ever  dwell,  when  freed  from  earthly  stains, 
Where  in  eternal  majesty  Christ,  my  Redeemer,  reigns. 

(Mark  xvi.  1-14.) 

H^HE    festival   of  the   Resurrection    of 
Jesus,   after  his  death  on  the  cross, 


may  be  considered  as  also  celebrated 
by  us  in  joyful  commemoration  of  our 
own  immortality.  His  resurrection  from  the 
grave  reminds  us  of  the  great  transformation 
which  our  souls  also  shall  one  day  undergo.  The 
soul  is  hot  dust  like  the  body,  and  never  can  be- 
dust.     As  all  the  powers  of  the  universe 


come 


created  by  the  Almighty  are  eternally  active,  so 
also  will  my  spirit  remain  eternally  active.  Jesus, 
our  example  in  life,  is  also  our  example  in  death, 

9 


M 


194  IMMORTALITY. 

and  his  resurrection  is  an  indication  of  what  we 
have  to  expect  after  death. 

There  are  three  great  ideas  bearing  upon  the 
most  sacred  interests  of  man,  and  compared  with 
which  all  others  sink  into  utter  insignificance ; 
three  ideas  which  the  mind  of  man  alone,  of  all 
God's  known  creatures,  can  comprehend,  and 
which  form  the  most  sacred  treasures  of  all 
souls,  —  without  which,  indeed,  man  would  cease 
to  be  man.  These  are :  the  conception  of  an 
all-ruling  Deity,  —  the  belief  in  the  possibility 
of  drawing  nearer  to  God  by  growing  in  per- 
fection, —  the  hope  in  eternity. 

He  who  treasures  in  his  mind  these  three  sa- 
cred ideas,  follows  in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus ;  he 
is  in  the  way  of  salvation ;  he  will  ever  enjoy  that 
peace  of  soul  which  is  a  foretaste  of  the  heavenly 
bliss  that  awaits  us  hereafter. 

If  the  thought  of  the  imperishable  nature  of  the 
soul  and  the  infinite  goodness  of  God  were  at  all 
times  vividly  present  to  men's  minds,  we  should 
witness  less  levity,  less  vanity,  and  less  heartless- 
ness,  and  we  should  experience  less  fear  and  awe 
of  death. 

Therefore  will  I  this  day  endeavor  to  fill  my 
mind  with  the  glorious  thought :  There  is  a  God, 
and  I  am  his  work,  and  am  forever  indestructible  ! 
I  will  meditate  upon  my  higher  destination,  upon 
the  more  exalted  existence  which  is  in  store  for 
me,   and  gladden  myself  with    the  hope  which 


IMMORTALITY.  195 

Jesus  has  given  me,  and  which  God  himself  has 
implanted,  not  only  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian, 
but  in  that  of  every  human  being  that  treads  the 
earth. 

I  am  born  for  eternity.  Christ  has  given  me 
the  assurance  thereof.  A  day  will  come  when  I 
shall  no  longer  belong  to  this,  but  to  another 
world,  in  which  I  shall  enjoy  a  higher  or  a  lower 
degree  of  happiness,  according  as  my  soul  has 
prepared  itself  in  this  earthly  life  for  the  future 
existence.     (John  v.  28  ;  2  Cor.  v.  10.) 

I  am  called  to  eternal  life.  This  body,  in 
which  I  am  now  clothed,  has  been  borrowed 
from  the  earth,  and  will  return  to  earth.  But 
that  which  is  incorruptible  cannot  perish,  cries 
a  voice  to  me  from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  My 
spirit  will  enter  into  new  relations,  and  clad,  as 
it  were,  in  nobler  raiment,  it  will  be  susceptible 
of  nobler  enjoyments.  It  is  in  vain  for  us  to 
search  into,  and  ponder  upon,  what  may  be  the 
real  nature  of  these  wonderful  changes.  It  is 
folly  to  wish  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  state 
of  the  soul  after  death.  Can  human  weakness 
penetrate  the  secrets  of  the  Infinite  Power? 
Can  human  blindness  scan  the  nameless  depths  of 
Infinite  Wisdom  ?  How  could  that  be  made  clear 
to  us  for  which  human  language  has  no  words, 
and  for  which  the  things  of  this  earth  offer  no 
analogy  ?  Even  St.  Paul  deprecated  such  vain 
endeavors  of  inquisitive  minds,  and  to  explain  that 


196  IMMORTALITY. 

which  takes  place  after  death  he  has  but  obscure 
images.     (1  Cor.  xv.  35,  44.) 

Let  it  be  enough  for  every  Christian  that  he 
has  acquired  the  tranquillizing  conviction  that  a 
life  awaits  him  which  from  the  beginning  of  time 
was  pre-ordained  for  him.  There  God  will  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  our  eyes,  and  there  shall  be 
no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  weeping, 
neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain ;  for  the 
former  things  are  passed  away.     (Rev.  xxi.  4.) 

Only  a  few  minutes  before  his  death,  Jesus,  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  gave  the  sweet  hope  of  im- 
mortality to  the  criminal  crucified  by  his  side. 
With  dying  voice  Jesus  said,  "  To-day  thou  shalt 
be  with  me  in  Paradise. " 

God  revealed  to  all  mortals  alike  the  eternal 
and  imperishable  nature  of  the  human  spirit.  All 
nations  of  the  earth  believe  in  the  continued  ex- 
istence of  their  souls  after  death,  though  the  one 
people  has  not  received  the  blessed  intelligence 
from  the  other.  But  the  Deity  has  so  organized 
the  laws  of  human  reason,  that  as  soon  as  the 
mind  has  acquired  a  certain  power  of  thought,  it 
is  spontaneously  impelled  to  believe  in  the  infinite 
future  that  awaits  it. 

All  religions,  therefore,  hold  out  this  consolation, 
and  even  the  heathen,  when  weeping  over  the 
corpse  of  one  he  loves,  does  not  fail  to  lift  his 
tearful  eyes  to  the  home  beyond  the  grave.  This 
universal  agreement,  this  universal  belief,  is  God's 
voice  within  us ! 


IMMORTALITY.  197 

How,  indeed,  should  the  abhorrent  thought  of 
eternal  annihilation  enter  the  mind  of  man,  when 
all  nature,  the  entire  creation  of  God,  bears  wit- 
ness to  the  contrary  ?  Nothing  that  is  in  the 
world  can  ever  be  lost  out  of  it.  The  grain  of 
dust  which  you  trample  under  foot  was  once  part 
of  a  rock.  The  rock  has  ceased  to  exist,  but  its 
constituent  parts  are  still  present.  And  if  the 
most  insignificant  of  things  endures  forever, 
though  in  time  it  may  undergo  a  thousand 
changes  of  condition  and  combination,  can  we 
believe  that  the  noblest  and  most  exalted  of  cre- 
ated beings  known  to  us,  the  spirit  of  man,  should 
be  an  exception  ?  When  we  see  that  the  grain 
of  dust  will  remain  in  the  universe  as  long  as  the 
universe  itself  endures,  can  we  believe  that  the 
soul  of  man,  which  alone  can  conceive  of  God 
and  immortality,  will  last  but  for  a  few  brief 
moments  ? 

Two  things  are  recognized  in  the  domain  of 
creation,  ever  distinct  from  each  other,  viz.  dead 
matter,  and  certain  hidden  forces  which  unite  and 
vivify  the  particles  of  that  matter.  These  flowers, 
which  owe  nothing  to  the  tending  hand  of  man, 
spring  from  the  earth.  The  plant,  it  is  true, 
draws  nourishment  from  water,  earth,  air,  and 
light,  but  not  every  particle  of  earth  or  every 
ray  of  light  becomes  a  plant.  There  is  a  secret 
power  present,  which  causes  the  grass  to  be  grass, 
and  the  oak  to  be  an  oak,  and  nothing  else.     This 


198  IMMORTALITY. 

secret  power,  which  may,  so  to  say,  be  regarded 
as  the  soul  of  the  plants,  knows  how  to  draw 
towards  each  the  nourishment  most  suited  for  it. 
Through  means  of  this  invisible,  inexplicable 
power,  the  flowers  have  become  flowers. 

What  sayest  thou  now,  Is  it  the  dead  sub- 
stances which,  in  combining,  generate  a  myste- 
rious force  ?  or  is  it  the  secret  kingdom  of  the 
forces  that  play  with  the  dead  matter,  and  give  it 
manifold  forms,  life,  movement,  and  enjoyment  ? 
If  dead  matter  cannot  disappear  from  the  uni- 
verse, thinkest  thou  that  the  forces,  the  higher 
and  nobler  elements,  can  cease  to  exist  ?  When 
the  plant  is  abandoned  by  its  indwelling  force, 
and  it  withers  and  returns  to  dust,  has  the  power 
that  once  vivified  it  vanished  from  the  universe  ? 
Nay,  thou  dost  not  perceive  it,  but  it  is  still  active 
under  other  conditions. 

The  same  is  the  case  as  regards  the  human 
spirit,  which  is  an  infinitely  higher  and  more  won- 
derful power,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  none  of  the 
other  forces  with  which  we  are  acquainted  can  be 
compared  with  it.  And  who  can  be  unreasonable 
enough  to  believe  that  our  bodies,  composed  of 
earthly  matter,  have  produced  the  spirits  within 
them,  —  that  when  the  body  returns  to  dust,  the 
spirit  must  also  perish  ?  Is  it  not  the  spirit  that 
takes  care  of,  nourishes,  and  protects  the  body ; 
that  directs  its  movements,  and  arbitrarily  uses  it 
as  its  instrument  ? 


IMMORTALITY.  199 

Verily  those  only  can  be  insane  enough  to 
doubt  immortality,  who  feel  that  their  lives  have 
not  been  such  as  to  deserve  it,  or  who  have  reason 
to  fear  it.  But  they  endeavor  in  vain  to  delude 
themselves,  to  destroy  their  own  reason  !  A  voice 
within  them  cries  aloud,  Thy  soul  cannot  perish ! 
It  must  continue  to  exist,  and  must  appear  before 
the  judgment-seat !  Sinner,  sinner,  there  is  a 
God;  and  as  true  as  there  is  a  God,  thou  art 
immortal,  and  thy  deeds  will  follow  thee  into 
eternity. 

The  human  soul,  that  spark  from  the  infinite 
ocean  of  divine  light,  that  sublime  power,  which 
holds  dominion  over  plants,  minerals,  and  animals, 
which  can  raise  itself  to  heaven,  which  calculates 
the  movements  of  the  spheres,  and  which,  through 
an  inward  revelation,  has  become  conscious  of  its 
divine  origin,  —  this  spirit,  whose  thoughts  fly 
across  mountains  and  seas,  and  penetrate  to  the 
throne  of  the  Almighty,  this  spirit  is  a  self-de- 
pendent essence.  It  exists  for  itself,  and  for 
naught  else,  nor  as  part  of  anything.  It  cre- 
ates, as  it  were,  a  little  world  for  itself.  It  is 
connected  with  the  rest  of  creation  through  its 
senses  only,  while  observing  the  many  changes 
that  take  place  round  it,  and  developing  new 
power  through  them.  If  the  human  spirit  were 
not  created  for  itself  alone,  if  it  existed  for  the 
sake  of  other  things,  it  would  lose  its  value  and 
cease  to  be,  as  soon  as  these  other  things,  of  which 


200  IMMORTALITY. 

it  formed  a  part,  disappeared.  The  spirit  does 
not  exist  on  account  of  the  body,  on  account  of 
the  dust  vivified  by  it,  on  account  of  this  mere 
instrument,  but  the  body  exists  on  account  of  the 
spirit.  It  is  the  animating  and  guiding  principle 
of  the  body. 

And  the  spirit's  wonderful  consciousness  of  its 
self-dependence,  the  firm  conviction  which  it 
possesses  that  its  exists  for  its  own  sake  solely, 
and  not  as  part  of  other  things,  is  the  divine 
guaranty  of  its  immortality.  In  like  manner 
the  most  exalted  of  spirits,  the  Deity,  the  Crea- 
tor, is  not  a  part  of  the  universe,  is  not  part  of 
aught  else,  but  is  self-existent  and  eternal.  Yea, 
he  who  doubts  the  immortality  of  his  own  soul, 
may  also,  in  such  moments  of  fearful  mental  aber- 
ration, doubt  thy  existence,  O  God ! 

If  we  observe  the  unreasoning  brutes,  with  their 
blind  instincts  and  their  capabilities,  we  perceive 
that  all  the  powers  with  which  the  Creator  has 
so  wonderfully  endowed  them  are  necessary  for, 
and  conducive  to,  the  support  of  life,  and  the 
attainment  of  such  objects  as  they  may  have  in 
life. 

Now,  were  the  human  spirit  created  merely  for 
this  fleeting  life  on  earth,  it  would  not  have  re- 
quired the  many  and  superior  faculties  which  the 
hand  of  God  has  bestowed  on  it.  Had  it  received, 
like  the  rest  of  the  animals,  blind  instincts  to 
guide  it,  these  would  have  sufficed  in  its  case  also 


IMMORTALITY.  201 

to  provide  nourishment  and  support  for  the  body- 
it  animates. 

But  of  what  use  are  the  glorious  faculties  of 
our  minds?  Why  are  we,  by  a  wonderful  con- 
catenation of  circumstances,  forced  into  improving 
these  faculties  ?  Why  should  we  possess  a  knowl- 
edge of  God,  if  this  God,  before  whose  throne  our 
spirits  worship,  is  not  our  eternal  Father  ?  Why 
did  the  hand  of  the  All-merciful  God  implant  in 
our  hearts  this  undying  yearning  for  continuous 
life,  if  it  were  meant  never  to  be  satisfied  ?  Were 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  a  delusion,  would  not 
man,  with  his  superior  knowledge  and  qualities,  be 
far  more  to  be  pitied  than  the  humblest  of  animals  ? 
The  latter  knows  not  of  death  ;  it  takes  no  care 
for  the  coming  hour.  Why  has  God,  the  All-wise, 
endowed  us  with  the  faculty  of  anticipating  the 
future  ?  Sceptic,  wouldst  thou  dare  to  utter  the 
blasphemous  answer,  "  That  we  may  be  the  more 
unhappy  "  ?  Are  we  then  to  suppose  that  God 
has  gloriously  manifested  his  wisdom  in  stones, 
in  plants,  and  in  animals ;  but  that  in  man  he 
has  failed  utterly  ?  The  animals  attain,  through 
means  of  their  inferior  capabilities,  as  great  con- 
tentment, and  as  high  a  degree  of  perfection,  as 
their  nature  is  capable  of;  but  man,  with  his  far 
higher  faculties,  does  not  attain  to  anything  ap- 
proaching the  perfection  of  which  his  nature  is 
susceptible.     This  life,  therefore,  does  not  suffice 

for  the  fulfilment  and  attainment  of  our  destina- 
9* 


202  IMMORTALITY. 

tion.  We  bear  within  us  the  germ  of  a  perfection 
of  infinite  growth,  and  therefore  infinitude  must 
have  been  a  condition  of  our  creation,  or  the 
world  is  a  chaos,  and  the  wisdom  of  God  is  at 
variance  with  itself,  —  a  thought  that  none  but  a 
madman  can  entertain. 

Thou  believest  in  a  God,  and  yet,  O  rash  and 
insensate  man  !  thou  wouldst  in  thy  aberration 
deny  the  manifestations  of  Ins  wisdom  in  the  won- 
derfully organized  universe.  Every  star,  every 
blade  of  grass,  thine  own  conscience,  all  the 
events  of  thy  life,  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
proclaim  it  in  a  thousand  tongues,  He  is !  He  is ! 

And  if  there  be  a  God,  and  he  be  an  all-perfect 
and  all-holy  Being,  how  durst  thou  doubt  his  jus- 
tice ?  He  who  does  not  believe  in  the  immortal- 
ity of  the  soul,  and  in  a  retributive  justice  dwelling 
above  the  stars,  he  believes  in  an  imperfect  God, 
he  believes  that  man's  mind  conceives  a  higher 
justice  than  the  acts  of  the  Most  Holy  One  mani- 
fest. 

For  how  can  it  be  reconciled  with  Divine  justice, 
that  excellent  men  and  women,  that  pious  Chris- 
tians, who  have  suffered  the  direst  misfortunes  on 
earth  for  the  sake  of  virtue,  and  without  any  fault 
of  their  own,  should  suffer  thus,  if  there  were  no 
future  compensation  of  supreme  bliss  for  what 
they  have  here  endured ;  that  bad  men,  that 
heartless  tyrants,  should  spend  their  days  amid 
pomp  and  pleasure,  and  be   allowed  unpunished 


IMMORTALITY.  203 

to  inflict  upon  their  innocent  fellow-men,  upon 
individuals,  families,  and  whole  nations,  intolerable 
evils  and  misfortunes  ?  If  there  be  no  supreme 
judge  and  no  retributive  justice  in  the  universe, 
what  mortal  here  on  earth  would  venture  to  fol- 
low the  dictates  of  virtue  ? 

True,  it  is  said  that  virtue  is  its  own  reward, 
—  alas  !  not  always.  How  many  have  not  sac- 
rificed every  joy  of  life  for  righteousness'  sake, 
and  died  under  great  suffering,  faithful  to  the  last 
to  the  divine  laws  !  No  ;  it  is  as  little  an  unfailing 
rule  on  earth  that  virtue  brings  its  own  reward,  as 
it  is  that  vice  always  bring  its  own  punishment. 
But  patient  Christians,  as  well  as  shameless  sin- 
ners, have  an  intuitive  belief  in  another  world, 
and  that  eternal  retribution  dwells  above  the 
stars ! 

Yea,  above  the  stars  dwells  the  eternal  Judge, 
meting  out  retributive  justice.  Weep  not,  suffer- 
ing friend  of  virtue ;  despair  not,  persecuted  and 
forsaken  innocence  ;  the  day  of  thy  triumph  will 
come.  Bear  thy  cross  courageously  to  the  grave, 
as  did  Jesus  ;  like  him,  thou  shalt  live  eternally* 

We  are  immortal !  not  forever  shall  we  be  the 
prey  of  death.  O,  ye  poor  orphans,  why  do  you 
lament  so  disconsolately  by  the  grave  of  your 
father,  your  mother  ?  O  father  !  O  mother  !  why 
pine  so  at  the  death  of  your  child?  It  has  but 
preceded  you  into  a  better  world.  You  are  im- 
mortal, and  you  will  find  your  lost  treasure  again, 


204  IMMORTALITY. 

—  God  has  willed  it  so.  Your  fate  in  regard  to 
this  was  eternally  pre-ordained  when  the  plan  of 
the  world  was  laid.  God  will  also  call  you  away ; 
you  will  one  day  be  happy  in  the  blessed  regions, 
while  others  will  be  weeping  for  you  on  earth. 

We  are  immortal !  —  Sinner,  well  mayst  thou 
turn  pale  !  The  soul  of  that  man,  too,  is  immor- 
tal whom  thou  didst  persecute  wTith  thy  hatred 
and  thy  slanderous  tongue  ;  immortal  is  also  the 
starving  wretch  whom  thou  didst  refuse  to  help, 
that  thou  mightest  have  the  more  to  spend  on 
thine  own  luxuries ;  immortal  the  soul  of  the  in- 
nocent girl  seduced  by  thee,  and  thus  robbed  by 
thee  of  her  every  joy  in  life  ;  and  immortal,  like 
thine  own,  O  proud  man !  is  the  soul  of  thy  fel- 
low-man whom  thou  trample st  under  foot  as  thou 
dost  the  worm  in  the  dust. 

We  are  immortal !  —  O  Christian,  O  meek  fol- 
lower of  Jesus,  the  souls  of  those  also  are  immor- 
tal on  whom  thou  hast  bestowed  thy  good  gifts. 
They  will  bear  witness  in  thy  favor  before  God. 
The  tears  which  thou  hast  wiped  from  the  eyes 
of  sufferers  will  be  transmuted  into  happiness  for 
thee.  The  children  whom  with  pious  heart  thou 
art  educating  for  eternity  will  never  be  torn 
away  from  thee.  They  will  be  hereafter  as  they 
are  here,  the  souls  most  closely  akin  to  thine  own. 

We  are  immortal !  God,  my  God  !  nameless, 
merciful,  wise,  and  just  God,  in  this  hope  is  com- 
prised  all  my  earthly  happiness.     In  thy  world 


IMMORTALITY.  205 

there  is  no  death,  only  life  !  And  that  which  we 
call  death  is  only  transformation.  Thy  entire 
universe  is  life.  Thou  thyself  art  Life  !  How, 
then,  could  I  be  in  thee,  and  cease  to  exist  ? 
Thou  hast  not  called  me  into  existence  for  this 
short  dream  of  life  on  earth,  —  thou  chosest  me 
for  eternity,  and  Jesus  who  has  risen  from  the 
dead  shows  me  in  his  holy  teachings  the  way  to 
reach  it.     (Col.  hi.  2.) 

O  what  inexpressible  joy  takes  possession  of 
my  soul !  what  rapture  quickens  the  pulsations  of 
my  heart,  at  the  thought  of  eternal  existence  ! 
Sorrows  of  life,  hours  of  suffering,  what  are  ye  ?  — 
passing  shadows  that  leave  no  trace  behind  them. 
Warnings  from  God  to  follow  the  holy  teachings 
of  Christ.  Warnings  from  my  Heavenly  Father 
to  remind  me  that  I  am  called  to  eternal  life. 

O  my  Father,  I  will  cling  closely  to  thee  ! 
Through  thy  will  I  am  immortal,  and  penetrated 
by  thy  Holy  Spirit,  I  will  endeavor  to  make  my- 
self worthy  of  immortality.  I  will  throw  off  my 
faults  like  defiling  dust ;  I  will  devote  myself  to 
God ;  for  I  am  immortal.  With  longing  heart  I 
strive  to  raise  myself  up  to  thee,  O  eternal 
Father  !  Receive  me  and  mine  into  thy  glory ! 
Amen. 


WHY   MUST   THE   FUTURE   LIFE    BE 
HIDDEN   FROM   US? 


Yes,  I  believe ;  but  clothed  in  dust, 
How  weak  is  still  the  strongest  trust, 
How  oft  my  wavering  faith  hath  failed, 
And  wished  its  hope  to  sight  revealed  J 

For  me,  thou  Life  by  which  I  live, 
0  let  thy  Spirit  witness  give  ; 
Death  is  not  death,  —  't  is  leaving  earth, 
For  nature's  second,  nobler  birth. 

When  once  this  transient  life  shall  fail, 
Thy  hand  shall  draw  away  the  veil,  — 
The  veil  that  dims  to  mortal  eye 
The  vision  of  eternity. 

(2  Cor.  v.  7.) 

OW  often,  when  meditating  on  the 
future  destiny  of  the  soul,  do  not 
mortals  say,  "  If  we  but  knew  how 
we  shall  fare  in  that  future  life  !  If 
we  had  but  some  slight  indication  of  what  will  be 
the  state  of  the  spirit  after  the  death  of  the  body  ! 
If  we  had  but  some  little  knowledge  of  the  abode 
into  which  the  spirit  will  pass,  some  shadowy 
insight  into  its  destination  there,  some  faint  pre- 
figurement  of  its  joys  and  sorrows  in  eternity !  " 


FUTURE  LIFE  HIDDEN  FROM  US.      207 

Such  wishes  and  questionings  are  pardonable. 
They  do  not,  however,  so  much  manifest  the 
soul's  noble  longing  for  knowledge  as  they  betray 
common  curiosity  and  impatience.  For  the  de- 
sire for  knowledge  will  easily  be  satisfied  with  the 
conviction  that  the  day  will  infallibly  come  when 
we  shall  know  and  experience  it  all,  and  that  it 
will  come  as  soon  as  it  is  good  for  us.  But  curi- 
osity will  not  rest  content  with  this ;  it  wishes  for 
knowledge  merely  to  satisfy  its  craving  ;  it  is  like 
the  inquisitive  child,  who,  though  certain  that  at  a 
given  time  it  will  receive  a  gift  from  its  tender 
parents,  yet  uselessly  endeavors  before  the  time 
comes  to  divine  what  the  gift  will  be. 

Therefore  human  folly  has  ever  been  busy 
endeavoring  to  discover  by  subtle  investigation 
the  secrets  of  eternity.  Therefore  there  have 
come  into  existence  as  many  notions  and  fancies 
regarding  the  future  life  as  there  have  been  per- 
sons who  have  allowed  their  imaginations  free 
play  respecting  the  subject.  Among  the  Jews 
as  among  the  Turks,  among  the  heathens  as 
among  the  Christians,  the  most  contradictory 
ideas  prevail  about  the  state  of  our  immortal 
spirits  after  death,  —  ideas  which  are  often  highly 
unworthy  of  the  greatness  and  majesty  of  God. 

Some  believe  that  in  the  next  world  the  soul 
will  live  in  a  state  of  sensual  bliss,  in  the  midst 
of  lovely  groves  and  gardens,  where  are  spread 
richly-decked  boards,  at  which   they  may  feast 


208        WHY  MUST  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

whenever  they  please.  Others  believe  that  the 
soul  sleeps  in  the  grave  until  the  great  day  of 
judgment  shall  come,  when  the  dead  shall  arise 
and  stand  forth  to  receive  their  reward.  Otl:  - . 
in,  believe  that,  until  the  last  day  of  the 
world,  the  -  als  wander  about  partly  under 

the  earth,  partly  near  the  entrance  to  hell,  partly 
in  the  air.  partly  in  the  vicinity  of  heaven ;  and 
that  thev  have  the  power  to  reveal  themselve-  - 
living  men  at  certain  times,  particularly  during 
the  night,  in  the  form  of  ghosts,  and  thus  to  cre- 
ate ten  no  reason  or  purpose.  Otl: 
a^ain.  think  that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  roam 
about  in  some  paradise,  where  their  greatest  hap- 
pinr  ss  nsists  in  remembering  and  recounting  the 
deeds  performed  by  them  in  their  former  exist- 
ence. Others  teach  that  before  the  soul  is  admit- 
ted into  paradise,  or  the  place  of  eternal  joy.  it 
must  undergo  a  period  of  probation,  during  which 
ill  be  cleansed  of  all  the  earthly  -  and 
cares  and  impurities  that  may  still  cling  * 
order  that  it  may  ultimately  enjoy  unmixed  I 

En    vain,   however,    has   human    cur  en- 

deavored to  force  open  the  gates  of  eternity,  in 
order  to  discover  that  which  lies  beyond.  It  has 
never  succeeded.  The  darkness  in  which  God 
wrapped  the  land  of  the  future  remains  im- 
penetrable :  and  of  the  dead,  not  one  has 
come  back  to  unveil  to  inquisitive  man  the 
of  the  world  of  spin:- 


BE  HIDDEN  FROM  US?  209 

Foolish  speculations  on  this  subject  have  never 
led  to  any  useful  or  beneficent  result.  Men  have 
tortured  themselves  with  their  own  dreams.  They 
have  created  for  themselves  terrific  images,  which 
have  no  existence  except  in  their  own  heated 
brains.  They  have  peopled  their  imaginations 
with  ghosts,  or  supposed  visible  spirits,  which  in 
their  timidity  they  fancy  they  see  and  hear  every- 
where. They  have  spread,  in  consequence,  not 
the  realm  of  wisdom,  but  the  realm  of  supersti- 
tion ;  not  the  kingdom  of  God,  but  the  kingdom 
of  error  and  of  heathenish  fables.  They  have 
been  less  intent  upon  becoming  like  unto  Jesus 
in  feeling  and  actions,  than  upon  disputations 
about  their  fancies  and  opinions.  They  have 
hoped  more  from  long  and  formal  prayers,  from 
sacrifices  and  outward  discipline,  from  fastings 
and  purifications,  than  from  following  the  example 
of  Jesus  in  virtuous  sentiments  and  works  of 
love.  Finally,  they  have  placed  the  value  and 
nee  of  Christianity  more  in  certain  dogmas 
and  in  faith,  than  in  doing  those  things  that  are 
pleasing  to  God,  as  they  are  enjoined  to  do  by 
Jesus  in  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  by  the 
Apostles  in  all  their  speeches  and  epistles.  In 
vain  St.  James  cries  to  them,  "  What  doth  it 
profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man  say  he  hath 
faith,  and  have  not  works  ?  Can  faith  save  him  ?  " 
In  vain  thou  criest  to  them,  O  Jesus  Christ,  u  Not 
every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall 

N 


210        WHY  MUST  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven." 
They  persist  in  their  melancholy  conceit ;  super- 
stitious ceremonies,  formal  prayers,  outward  relig- 
ious observances  are  to  them  more  than  the  call 
of  Jesus,  more  than  the  warning  love  of  Christ. 

Let  me  then  sedulously  avoid  all  mere  curiosity 
on  this  solemn  subject ;  let  me  shun  all  notions 
and  suppositions  as  to  the  state  of  departed  souls, 
which  may  induce  superstitious  and  irrational 
fears,  and  lead  me  to  have  recourse  to  unmeaning 
ceremonies.  On  earth  there  is  for  me  but  one 
great  Revealer  of  divine  and  heavenly  things, 
and  this  is  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  He  alone  is  my  light,  my 
loadstar  in  the  darkness  ;  and  all  else  that  human 
beings,  be  they  ever  so  wise  and  holy,  would  re- 
veal to  me  concerning  eternal  life,  is  only  human 
conceptions,  only  their  special  views. 

But  Jesus,  who  dwelleth  ever  in  eternity,  who 
was  there  hi  the  beginning,  and  will  be  there  ever- 
more, —  Jesus  has  assured  me  that  my  soul  is 
immortal ;  yet  he  shed  no  light  upon  its  state  in 
the  next  life.  He  taught  us  that  the  soul  of  man, 
after  its  liberation  from  the  body,  would  be  re- 
moved into  a  higher  and  happier  sphere,  which 
God  had  prepared  for  it  from  the  beginning ; 
therefore  he  said  to  his  companion  on  the  cross, 
"  To-day  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise."  He 
taught  that  our  spirits  must  prepare  here  on  earth 


BE  HIDDEN  FROM  USf  211 

for  eternity ;  that  here  already  they  belong  to 
the  great  kingdom  of  God  ;  that  this  kingdom  of 
God  does  not  consist  in  ontward  signs,  but  is 
within  us,  in  the  virtuous  and  perfect  mind. 
"  The  kingdom  of  God,"  said  he,  "  is  within 
you."  (Luke  xvii.  21.)  He  taught  that  accord- 
ing as  each  mortal  in  this  life  makes  himself 
worthy  of  higher  perfection  and  of  a  more  bliss- 
ful state,  so  will  it  be  meted  out  to  him  hereafter. 
There  every  one  will  be  judged  by  his  words, 
his  thoughts,  and  his  deeds,  and  receive  the  re- 
ward he  merits.     (Matt.  xxv.  34  -  46.) 

With  these  explanations  as  to  what  we  have  to 
look  forward  to  in  eternity,  the  disciples  of  Christ 
must  be  satisfied.  They  know  the  value  of  eter- 
nal life,  and  to  them  the  promises  concerning  it 
must  bring  joy.  Here,  on  earth,  "  we  walk  by 
faith,  not  by  sight !  " 

And  why  should  I  not  be  satisfied  with  the 
revelations  given  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?  Why 
should  not  that  which  Jesus  has  promised  be  suf- 
ficient to  tranquillize  me  ?  Why  should  I  rather 
listen  to  the  promptings  of  my  restless  curiosity, 
than  to  the  wisdom  of  my  Divine  Redeemer  and 
Comforter  ? 

Had  the  Deity  thought  it  good  for  mankind  that 
we  should  be  able  to  look  into  eternity,  and  to 
penetrate  its  secrets,  the  power  of  doing  so  would 
have  been  bestowed  upon  us.  But  the  Omniscient 
would  not  that  it  should  be  so  ;  and  we  may  there- 


212        WHY  MUST  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

fore  conclude  that  the  faculty  of  following  the 
spirits  along  their  path  in  eternity  would  not  be 
conducive  to  our  happiness  and  well-being.  It  is 
withheld  from  us  until  the  important  hour  when 
we  shall  ourselves  become  denizens  of  eternity. 

Thy  inquisitive  desire  to  solve  the  mysteries 
of  the  future  world  is  therefore  culpable,  is  un- 
worthy of  thy  profession  as  a  Christian,  proves  a 
want  of  trust  in  the  wisdom  and  fatherly  love  of 
God.  Be  assured,  that  the  knowledge  of  that 
which  the  Lord  conceals  from  thee  would  render 
thee  unhappy.  Are  there  not  in  like  manner 
many  tilings  which  mortal  parents  conceal  from 
their  children  in  infancy,  but  which  are  communi- 
cated to  them  when  they  reach  a  riper  age  ? 
Too  early  a  disclosure  of  these  matters  might  be 
injurious  to  the  welfare  of  the  entire  family,  or  be 
hurtful  to  the  children  themselves.  Who  would 
blame  the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  these  anxious 
parents,  who  in  this  very  withholding  of  knowl- 
edge give  a  proof  of  their  affection  for  their  chil- 
dren ?  Will  not  the  child  himself  in  later  years 
thank  his  parents  for  their  reticence  ? 

And  the  same  is  the  case  with  man  in  regard 
to  God !  We  also  shall  one  day,  when  death 
breaks  the  dark  seal  of  the  mystery,  recognize  the 
wisdom  of  the  all-loving  Father,  and  stammer 
forth  our  thanks.  We  also  shall  smile  at  the  fu- 
tility of  our  endeavors,  at  the  childishness  of  our 
fancies,  respecting  the  eternal  future.     We  also 


BE  HIDDEN  FROM  US?  213 

shall  then  repent  with  justice  of  our  want  of  trust 
in  the  Eternal  Wisdom  and  Mercy. 

However  incapable  we  may  be,  while  dwelling 
here  in  the  dust,  and  with  our  limited  faculties,  of 
understanding  the  councils  and  the  exalted  ends 
of  the  Most  High,  it  is  much  easier  for  us  to 
divine  why  the  hand  of  God  has  veiled  to  our 
eyes  the  face  of  eternity,  than  it  is  to  lift  this  veil, 
even  in  the  least  degree. 

The  less  we  know  with  certainty  that  which 
awaits  us  after  this  life,  the  purer,  the  more  un- 
selfish, will  our  virtue  be  on  earth. 

What  is  Christian  virtue  ?  Wherein  consists 
the  holiness  which  Jesus  demands  of  us  ?  In  self- 
improvement,  self-bestowed  blessedness.  Chris- 
tian duty,  as  Christ  understood  it,  must  have  no 
other  end  than  itself ;  it  must  not  be  a  means  to 
secure  this  or  that  advantage  ;  it  must  not  be  a 
mere  measure  of  prudence. 

What  value  is  there  in  that  virtue  which  makes 
me  give  alms  to  the  poor,  in  order  that  I  may 
gain  honor  among  men,  —  which  makes  me  avoid 
enmities  in  order  that  my  life  may  be  more  easy,  — 
which  leads  me  to  afford  help,  that  I  may  be 
helped  in  my  turn,  —  that  induces  me  to  perform 
acts  of  public  utility,  that  I  may  win  popularity,  — 
that  makes  me  act  honestly  in  order  to  gain  con- 
fidence, —  that  makes  me  amiable  in  manner  in 
order  that  I  may  be  praised,  —  that  makes  me 
show  friendship  to  those  who  may  show  me  friend- 


214         WHY  MUST  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

ship  in  return?  Is  tins  virtue,  as  Jesus  under- 
stood it  ?  Nay,  it  is  but  prudence  !  It  is  a  cal- 
culation how  to  gain  great  advantages  by  means 
of  small  sacrifices.  "  For  if  ye  love  them  which 
love  you,  what  reward  have  ye  ?  And  if  ye 
salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  you  more  than 
others?"  No;  "ye  must  be  perfect,  as  your 
Father  in  heaven  is  perfect  "  ;  that  is  to  say,  your 
goodness  must  be  without  selfishness,  you  must 
not  debase  your  virtue  into  a  mere  measure  of 
prudent  calculation,  you  must  expect  no  higher 
reward  than  is  comprised  in  that  virtue  itself. 

He  who  does  not  love  it  for  its  own  sake,  O 
he  can  never  have  known  it !  A  child  who  is 
only  obedient  when  he  is  promised  a  reward,  is 
not  a  wise  or  good  child,  but  a  calculating  and 
selfish  one. 

God  is  perfect,  because  he  is  God,  and  in  his 
own  perfection  he  finds  the  highest  bliss.  God  is 
perfect  not  in  order  to  gain  outward  advantages ; 
and  he  is  merciful,  gracious,  and  beneficent,  not  in 
order  that  weak  man,  a  poor  worm  in  the  dust, 
should  worship  him.  And  in  this  spirit  Jesus  tells 
us  to  be  perfect  as  our  Father  in  heaven  is  perfect. 

We  are  to  improve  ourselves,  to  become  holy 
through  the  practice  of  every  virtue,  not  in  order 
to  receive  some  other  reward,  but  because  in  this 
improvement  and  sanctification  is  comprised  the 
happiness  of  the  spirit.  The  most  virtuous  and 
the  wisest  man  is  the  happiest,  simply  because  he 


BE  HIDDEN  FROM   US?  215 

is  the  most  perfect.  That  which  he  was  here 
below,  that  his  spirit  will  remain  on  entering 
eternity;  and  his  reward  in  that  better  life  is, 
that  he  is  allowed  ever  to  approach  nearer  to  the 
Divine  perfection,  ever  to  grow  in  likeness  to 
God. 

If  any  one  avoid  evil  from  fear  of  punishment, 
he  is  prudent,  but  not  virtuous.  If  any  one  re- 
frain from  stealing  from  fear  of  chains  and  prison, 
shall  we  therefore  call  him  pious  ?  Who  can 
assure  me  that  he  would  not  steal  if  there  were 
no  chains,  no  prison  ?  If  any  one  refrain  from 
sin  through  fear  of  hell,  is  he  therefore  righteous  ? 
Or,  when  any  one  does  good  in  this  life  in  the 
hope  that  he  will  be  richly  rewarded  in  the  next, 
is  he  therefore  a  saint,  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  ? 
If  he  had  no  hope,  or  only  a  vacillating  hope  of 
future  reward,  would  he  act  equally  well  ?  And 
if  not,  is  his  selfish  virtue  other  than  a  well- 
calculated  means  to  purchase  a  great  good  for  a 
small  outlay ;  to  gain,  at  the  price  of  a  small  sac- 
rifice of  a  few  minutes'  duration,  an  eternity  of 
bliss  ? 

Nay,  it  is  a  beneficent  arrangement  that  earth- 
ly eyes  should  not  be  able  to  penetrate  eternity. 
Our  virtue  on  earth  is  thereby  rendered  so  much 
the  more  pure  and  unselfish,  because,  ignorant 
as  to  what  is  to  follow,  we  are  thrown  entirely 
upon  ourselves. 

But  suppose  a  revelation  of  the  future  world 


216         WHY  MUST  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

should  be  made  to  us,  should  we  be  able  to  com- 
prehend it?  How  is  it  possible  that,  bound  in 
the  fetters  of  earth  as  we  are,  and  with  faculties 
proportionately  limited,  we  should  have  the  power 
of  comprehending  the  supernatural?  How  can 
the  sensual  embrace  the  spiritual  ?  All  descrip- 
tions would  be  insufficient  to  enlighten  us,  because 
we  lack  means  of  comparison. 

If  a  traveller  from  our  part  of  the  globe  visited 
the  savages  of  the  Pacific,  and  attemped  to  de- 
scribe to  them  the  comforts  of  life  and  the  mental 
superiority  enjoyed  by  man  in  our  regions,  how 
would  he  make  himself  understood,  as  no  con- 
ception of  the  kind  exists  in  the  mind  of  the 
savage  ?  If  a  man  blessed  with  sight  were  to 
describe  to  a  man  born  blind  the  beauties  of  a 
landscape,  the  sublime  forms  of  the  lofty  moun- 
tains at  the  foot  of  which  roll  majestic  streams, 
and  around  whose  summits  are  gathered  clouds 
glowing  in  the  golden  rays  of  the  setting  sun, 
in  what  words  would  he  represent  to  the  blind 
man,  who  knows  not  what  light  is,  the  wonderful 
beauties  of  creation  ?  The  blind  man  would  re- 
main, as  before,  hi  darkness,  without  the  power 
of  comprehending  what  the  other  attempted  to 
convey  to  him ;  but  greater  sadness  would  take 
possession  of  him  at  the  thought  that  he  was  ex- 
cluded from  so  much  happiness  that  fell  to  the 
share  of  others. 

Well,  then,  what  are  we  mortals  more   than 


BE  HIDDEN  FROM  USf  217 

persons  born  blind  as  regards  the  glories  of  the 
future  existence  that  awaits  us  ?  Those  glories 
can  only  be  seen  by  earth-freed  spirits,  and  were 
one  of  these  to  appear  to  us,  and  to  describe  the 
greatness,  the  goodness,  the  majesty  of  the  Crea- 
tor, as  they  are  manifested  in  those  blessed 
realms,  and  the  condition  of  the  souls  that  have 
thrown  off  the  bonds  of  flesh,  should  we  be  able 
to  comprehend  what  he  told  us  ?  Shoidd  we  not 
be  overwhelmed  with  sadness  at  the  thought  that 
other  creatures  of  God  were  so  infinitely  more  per- 
fect and  more  blessed  than  we  ?  Should  we  not 
think  the  joys  which  God  has  bestowed  upon  us 
here  below  very  insignificant  in  comparison  with 
those  he  has  in  store  for  us  ?  O,  let  us  rest  as- 
sured that  it  was  with  a  wise  hand  that  the  Eter- 
nal God  veiled  the  glories  of  eternity  from  the 
eyes  of  those  who,  being  here  on  earth,  cannot 
yet  be  allowed  to  partake  of  them ;  for  to  behold 
them  would  but  make  us  less  happy  than  we  are 
now,  when  the  joys  that  we  do  feel  are  the  great- 
est that  we  know. 

Were  we  allowed  to  have  a  glimpse  of  the  bliss 
of  future  worlds,  our  impatience  to  attain  it  would 
imbitter  our  life  upon  earth.  How  soon  and  how 
easily  may  not  the  barriers  of  life  be  overleapt ! 
How  many  thousand  sufferers  would  not  in  mo- 
ments of  impatience,  forgetful  of  their  duties, 
determine  to  leave  this  world ! 

But  it  is  God's  will  that  we  should  work  out 
10 


2  i  8        WHY  MUST  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

our  destination  on  earth,  as  far  as  it  is  to  be  ful- 
filled here;  that  we  should  not  voluntarily  and 
capriciously  put  an  end  to  our  earthly  career,  but 
that  we  should  pursue  it  to  its  furthest  goal. 

Therefore,  he  placed  as  guardians  before  the 
closed  gates  of  eternity,  fear  and  anxious  doubt, 
and  the  awful  stillness  of  death,  and  impenetrable 
darkness. 

These  guardians  drive  back  the  human  race, 
that  it  may  pursue  to  the  end  its  appointed  path 
on  earth. 

In  spite  of  all  the  discomforts  of  life,  in  spite 
of  our  impatient  longing  to  be  reunited  with  the 
friends  who  have  gone  before  us  to  our  eternal 
home,  the  terrors  that  surround  the  portals  of 
eternity  repel  us,  and  we  continue  our  earthly 
journey  with  calmer  spirits. 

Were  it  not  for  that  darkness  and  terror, 
should  we  not  be  like  wearied  mariners,  who, 
after  a  long  voyage  on  the  stormy  seas,  behold  at 
a  short  distance  the  shores  of  their  beloved  coun- 
try? They  see  the  calm  and  secure  haven, 
where  wind  and  tempest  no  longer  threaten  de- 
struction ;  they  already  discover  the  verdant  trees 
and  the  peaceful  cottages ;  their  hearts  yearn 
towards  their  homes ;  their  eyes  are  suffused 
with  tears  of  mingled  joy  and  sadness  at  the 
long-missed  sight.  They  tremble.  Every  min- 
ute before  they  reach  the  shore  seems  a  year. 
Ah!   they   recognize   already  their   wives,  their 


BE  HIDDEN  FROM  US?  219 

brothers,  their  parents,  their  children,  their  be- 
loved maidens  waiting  for  them  there.  They 
see  their  arms  opened  to  receive  them,  and  hear 
from  afar  the  longing  cries  of  affection.  What 
prevents  them  from  flying  at  once  into  those 
arms,  to  weep  out  then  joy  on  those  bosoms, 
in  which  the  heart  beats  so  tenderly  for  them  ? 
44  O  home !  O  joy !  which  we  have  so  long 
missed ! "  all  exclaim.  They  forget  the  helm 
of  the  ship,  the  waves  of  the  sea,  the  rocks,  the 
surf  around  them ;  they  forget  the  treasures 
which  they  have  gathered  together  on  the  long 
and  wearisome  voyage,  —  they  throw  themselves 
into  the  sea,  to  reach  the  sooner  the  shores  of 
their  home. 

Such  would  be  the  lot  of  mortals,  did  not  the 
dark  ocean  separate  them,  for  their  own  good, 
from  their  heavenly  home. 

But  not  forever,  O  my  God !  does  it  separate 
me  from  the  dearly  beloved  beings  who  are  await- 
ing me  there !  I  shall  one  day  behold  these 
shores  of  my  better  fatherland ;  I  shall  at  length 
see  them  again,  those  loved  ones,  to  whom  my 
heart  clings  so  tenderly ;  and  shall  rest  among 
them  after  the  dangers  and  hardships  that  I  have 
undergone  on  my  voyage  across  the  stormy  waters 
of  life. 

Yes ;  be  comforted,  O  spirit ;  God  has  prepared 
thy  haven  of  rest !  God  has  kept  a  home  open  for 
thee,  where  thou  wilt  find  with  delight  what  thou 


220       FUTURE  LIFE  HIDDEN  FROM  US. 

hast  lost  here.  Thou  wilt  not  be  alone ;  thy  loved 
ones  are  already  awaiting  thee.  They  beckon  to 
thee  with  the  palm  of  victory  which  thou  art  to 
fight  for  here  below.  Up,  then,  my  soul,  fight 
out  the  battle !  Raise  thyself,  through  the  aid  of 
Jesus'  Holy  Word,  in  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Jesus  to 
that  perfection,  through  which  alone  thou  canst 
become  a  denizen  of  that  better  land,  a  partaker 
of  that  more  blissful  eternity !  It  is  the  Lord 
that  cries  to  thee,  "  Be  faithful  unto  death,  and  I 
will  give  thee  the  crown  of  life." 


A   JOY   IN   THE    HOUR   OF   DEATH. 

I  know,  I  know  in  whom  I  trust, 
And  bow  me  humbly  in  the  dust, 

My  Saviour,  God,  and  Lord,  to  thee. 
If  from  my  sins  I  may  be  freed, 
If  I  may  hope  thy  help  in  need, 

0,  then  must  heaven  my  portion  be  ! 

And  when  my  last  sleep  draweth  near, 
Then  dare  I,  without  doubt  or  fear, 

To  the  beloved  One  look  on  high. 
And  none  who  knew  me  here,  and  loved, 
Will  e'er  repent,  or  stand  unmoved, 

Beside  the  grave  in  which  I  lie. 


(Eev.  xiv.  13.) 

^NE  tiling  after  another  fades  and  dies 
away :  herbs  of  the  field,  animals,  and 
man.  We  come,  we  look  around  us, 
Sl3  and  depart  again  from  this  world. 
Whether  we  are  to  depart  in  the  bloom  of  youth, 
or  in  the  fulness  of  years,  —  who  can  say  ?  And 
in  the  end  it  is  of  little  consequence,  —  for  of 
what  importance  are  a  few  days,  a  few  years  more 
or  less  ?  That  which  is  past  is  as  if  it  had  never 
been.  The  dust  of  the  infant  and  the  dust  of  the 
old  man  rest  side  by  side  in  the  grave,  and  there 
is  now  no  difference  between  them.      Another 


222       A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH. 

generation  moves  above  them,  which  knows 
naught  of  them,  makes  no  mention  of  them, 
lives  on,  but  is  soon  to  be  laid  low  by  their 
side. 

We  are  all  aware  of  this,  and  we  dread  the 
moment,  but  in  vain.  Whether  it  be  on  the  field 
of  battle,  or  on  the  bed  of  sickness,  or  in  the 
midst  of  our  relatives,  or  in  a  lonely  prison,  it 
matters  little  ;  it  is  sure  to  come. 

To  delude  ourselves  in  regard  to  it,  and  never 
to  look  forward  to  that  moment,  is  as  senseless  as 
it  is  to  be  ever  tormenting  ourselves  with  thoughts 
of  death,  and  thus  imbittering  all  enjoyment  in 
life.  But  it  is  wise  to  keep  in  store,  for  that 
solemn  and  dreaded  moment,  a  joy  that  will  turn 
all  bitterness  to  sweetness. 

Many  persons,  it  is  true,  do  think  of  this,  but 
they  do  not  always  make  a  good  choice.  They 
are  frequently  very  one-sided  in  their  selection  of 
that  which  is  to  comfort  them  in  the  hour  of  dis- 
solution. 

There  are  many  who  toil  anxiously  their  whole 
life  through  to  amass  money,  in  order  that  they 
may  leave  their  children  a  respectable  fortune, 
or  at  least  a  competence.  That  is  undoubtedly 
very  praiseworthy.  It  must  certainly  be  a  great 
comfort  to  them  in  their  last  hour,  when  parting 
from  those  dear  ones,  to  think  that  they  are  pro- 
vided for,  though  no  one  may  be  there  to  watch 
over  them.     That  they  are   not  quite  forsaken, 


A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH.      223 

are  not  quite  without  means,  will  not  be  beggars, 
or  be  hustled  about  as  troublesome  beings ;  that 
they  are  placed  in  a  position  to  lead  an  indepen- 
dent and  honorable  life.  Assuredly  this  is  a  great 
comfort.  Yet  it  is  but  a  poor  joy.  For  the  good 
or  the  evil  fortune  of  our  dear  ones,  after  our 
death,  does  not  rest  solely  on  the  money  that  we 
may  leave  them.  Their  future  lot  depends  far 
more  upon  their  skill,  their  knowledge,  their  vir- 
tues, and  upon  the  friendship  of  their  fellow-men, 
and  the  blessing  of  God.  All  the  money  in  the 
world  cannot  make  us  happy,  if  our  mental  dispo- 
sition be  adverse.  It  is  true,  that  a  moderate 
fortune  will  save  our  children  from  too  great  de- 
pendence on  the  favor  and  caprice  of  other  men. 
But  it  is  only  he  who  has  educated  his  children 
so  as  to  render  them  happy  and  contented,  inde- 
pendently of  money,  that  can  say  that  he  leaves 
them  true  riches,  which  thieves  cannot  steal,  and 
circumstances  not  impair,  and  moth  not  eat. 
Finally,  if  we  can  find  no  better  comfort  in  the 
hour  of  the  last  parting  from  our  loved  ones,  than 
that  we  leave  them  some  pecuniary  means  where- 
with to  get  on  in  the  world,  then  we  have  done 
little  indeed  !  Even  the  heathens  do  this  !  We 
have  only  fulfilled  a  most  urgent  duty,  and  grati- 
fied our  own  ambition. 

Others  store  up  for  the  hour  of  death  a  joy 
which  they  have  been  hard-hearted  enough  to 
deny  themselves  all  their  fife  long.      We  hear 


224      A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH. 

that  persons  who  are  dying  have  forgiven  their 
enemies,  and  have  been  sincerely  reconciled  to 
them. 

True,  to  be  reconciled  to  enemies  is  a  delight 
to  the  soul.  And  to  desire  to  be  so  is  a  proof  of 
a  noble  disposition,  if  we  have  given  offence  by 
our  pride,  our  covetousness,  or  our  irrepressible 
anger.  But  if  we  look  closely  at  it,  what  is  a 
reconciliation  with  our  enemies  on  the  bed  of 
death  ?  In  fact,  nothing  more  than  a  declaration 
that  we  wish  to  make  peace  with  them  now  that 
we  can  no  longer  injure  them.  What  would  you 
think  of  the  sincerity  of  the  desire  for  reconcilia- 
tion of  a  man  who,  when  thrown  into  prison, 
promises  peace  and  good- will,  and  asks  your  for- 
giveness for  the  past  ?  And  are  not  those  who 
propose  reconciliation  on  their  death-bed  in  the 
same  case  ?  Are  all  those  present  whom  we  have 
in  the  course  of  life  offended  by  word  or  by  deed  ? 
Can  our  will  to  be  reconciled  to  them  make 
amends  for  the  many  painful  hours  and  days  we 
have  caused  them  by  our  quarrelsome  and  un- 
amiable  disposition  ?  And  are  we  sure  they  have 
forgiven  us  all  our  trespasses  ?  Why  hast  thou 
postponed  till  the  hour  of  death  that  which  thou 
wert  bound  to  do  every  day  of  thy  life,  and  why 
makest  thou  peace  then  only,  when  thy  enmity 
can  no  longer  be  dangerous  ?  Dost  thou  think 
that  the  wish,  forced  upon  thee  by  the  fear  in  thy 
heart,  is  sufficient  to  stifle  the  sighs  of  those  thou 


A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH.       225 

hast   offended,  so  that  they  shall  not  rise  up  to 
Heaven  to  witness  against  thee  ? 

Of  others,  again,  we  hear  that,  when  disposing 
of  their  property  by  will,  they  have  not  been  for- 
getful of  the  poor,  that  they  have  bestowed  be- 
nevolent gifts  on  almshouses,  and  on  other  useful 
public  institutions ;  sometimes,  that  they  have 
made  special  arrangements  for  restoring  that 
which  they  have  acquired  by  unrighteous  means 
to  the  rightful  owners.  This  is  right.  We  ought 
not  to  depart  from  this  world  with  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  committed  a  wrong,  without  taking 
means  to  make  all  the  amends  in  our  power.  And 
it  is  praiseworthy  to  think  of  the  good  of  the  com- 
monwealth, also,  in  the  disposition  we  may  make 
of  our  fortunes  after  our  death.  Not  only  our 
children  .or  our  blood-relatives  are  our  kindred, 
all  the  children  of  God,  all  those  for  whom  Jesus 
died,  are  so  likewise.  However,  the  pleasure 
which  we  feel  in  giving  away  that  which  death 
forbids  us  any  longer  to  possess  must  be  rather  a 
sad  one.  Why,  O  miserly,  ungenerous  spirit,  dost 
thou  not  give  away  in  thy  lifetime,  and  thus  pro- 
mote joy  and  happiness  ?  Then  that  would  have 
been  a  merit  which  in  thy  last  hour  ceases  to  be  one. 
The  poor  widow  mentioned  in  the  Gospels,  indi- 
gent as  she  was,  brought  her  mite  to  the  treasury. 
But  thou  hast  been  saving  that  thou  mightest  in- 
crease thy  goods,  and  thou  hast  only  become  gen- 
erous now  that  the  moment  has  arrived  when  thou 
10*  o 


226       A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH. 

canst  no  longer  thyself  enjoy  thy  riches.  Thou, 
who  hast  spent  thy  fortune  in  splendid  entertain- 
ments, in  pomp  and  luxury,  in  tickling  thy  palate 
with  high-priced  delicacies,  and  hast  only  begun 
to  think  of  clothing  the  naked  and  feeding  the 
hungry  since  illness  and  the  approach  of  death 
have  deprived  thee  of  the  power  of  continuing 
thy  life  of  revelry  and  self-indulgence,  —  what 
merit  hast  thou  ?  Thou  growest  more  abstemious 
because  thy  appetite  fails  thee,  and  thou  givest 
away  what  thou  canst  no  longer  use.  Verily  thy 
virtue  is  not  great ;  canst  thou  hope  that  it  will 
suffice  to  sweeten  the  bitter  cup  of  death  ? 

It  is  a  consolation  in  the  hour  of  death  to  see 
one's  self  surrounded  by  friends  and  dear  rela- 
tives, and  to  behold  in  their  grief  and  tears  a  grat- 
ifying testimony  of  their  affection  and  tender  at- 
tachment. But  does  this  suffice  to  take  away  all 
the  bitterness  of  the  last  moment  ?  Who  is  not 
saddened  by  the  sight  of  death  ?  It  is  impossible 
to  witness  without  emotion  the  last  sigh  of  even 
a  perfect  stranger.  Can  we  then  regard  it  as  a 
merit  in  ourselves,  as  a  proof  of  our  inward  worth, 
that  those  who  have  been  accustomed  to  live  with 
us  for  long  years,  with  whom  we  have  enter- 
tained relations  of  the  closest  intimacy,  should 
weep  at  our  death  ?  Would  it  not  be  more  grati- 
fying to  know  in  our  last  hour  that  those  also 
with  whom  we  have  never,  or  at  least  but  rarely, 
held  personal  intercourse,  will  grieve  when  they 


A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH       227 

hear  of  our  departure  ?  That  the  whole  commu- 
nity will  lament  and  say,  "  We  have  lost  an  up- 
right fellow-citizen,  a  supporter  of  the  poor  and 
afflicted,  an  active  promoter  of  every  good  under- 
taking, a  pleasant  companion,  a  philanthropist  in 
the  fullest  sense  of  the  word"  ? 

Truly,  one  of  the  greatest  joys  that  can  be  ours 
at  the  moment  of  death  is  the  consciousness  that 
in  quitting  the  world  we  leave  behind  us  a  mem- 
ory respected  by  all  who  knew  us ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  can  be  no  greater  pain  than  to 
have  the  conviction  that  many  survive  who  wish 
that  they  had  never  known  us,  or  had  never  been 
brought  into  closer  connection  with  us. 

That  sweetest  of  comforts,  that  none  who  sur- 
vived him  regretted  having  known  him,  was  en- 
joyed in  death  by  Jesus  Christ.  He  died  the 
death  of  supreme  self-sacrifice  for  the  happiness 
of  all  souls  ;  he  died  the  death  of  inexpressible 
love,  even  for  the  ungrateful,  who  still  misjudged 
him.  He  died,  but  even  his  persecutors  admired 
him ;  even  his  judges  declared,  "  We  see  no  evil 
in  him."  A  deluded  people,  in  a  storm  of  wild 
passion,  put  him  to  death,  —  but  Jerusalem  wept. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days  his  enemies  were 
seized  with  an  avenging  panic,  and  thousands  who 
had  turned  away  from  him  again  sought  refuge 
with  him.  Even  to  this  day,  after  very  nearly 
two  thousand  years,  the  race  redeemed  by  him 
grieves  at  the  memory  of  his  sufferings  and  his 


228       A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH. 

death.  Verily,  this  is  to  die  in  God  !  This  is  to 
be  followed  by  the  blessings  of  one's  works  long 
after  death. 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they 
may  rest  from  their  labors ;  and  their  works  do 
follow  them."     (Rev.  xiv.  13.) 

And  this  —  yea,  none  but  this  —  is  the  last 
earthly  joy  that  every  wise  man  and  woman, 
every  trne  Christian,  ought  to  store  up  for  the 
hour  of  death.  With  such  consciousness  it  is 
sweet  to  fall  asleep.  But  what  is  meant  by  dying 
in  the  Lord  ?  It  means  to  die  in  the  spirit  and  in 
the  holiness  of  Jesus  Christ.  But  what  is  meant 
by  dying  in  Jesus  ?  It  means,  to  die,  not  merely 
believing  in  God  and  in  Jesus,  (for  the  devils  also 
believe  and  tremble,)  but  to  be  one  with  Jesus. 
And  how  can  we  die  in  Jesus,  if  we  have  not 
lived  in  Jesus  ?  What  is  meant  by  living  in 
Jesus  ?  It  means  to  live  and  act  in  his  faith,  in 
his  spirit,  and  according  to  his  example ;  to  live 
and  to  act  as  he  would  have  lived,  thought,  and 
acted,  had  he  been  in  our  place. 

Only  he  who  has  lived  in  the  Lord  can  die  in 
the  Lord.  Only  he  who  dies  in  the  Lord  can  be 
called  blessed.  He  rests  from  his  labors, — he 
rests,  not  from  his  pleasures,  not  from  his  en- 
deavors after  riches,  honors,  and  admiration,  or 
after  pomp  and  splendor,  but  from  his  labors  for 
the  good  and  happiness  of  others.  And  he  may 
be  called  blessed,  for  his  works  do  follow  him. 


A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH.       229 

They  follow  liim  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  and 
the  remembrance  of  them  is  then  his  last  con- 
solation. He  departs  joyfully,  with  the  happy 
thought :  of  all  that  survive  me,  there  is  not  one 
who  repents  having  known  me,  or  having  been 
brought  into  closer  or  more  distant  connection 
with  me.  I  leave  no  one  behind  me  who  rejoices 
at  my  being  removed  from  the  ranks  of  the  liv- 
ing, because  my  existence  has  been  oppressive 
and  hateful  to  him.  No ;  I  leave  a  circle  of 
friends  to  not  one  of  whom  I  have  wilfully  done 
an  injury,  even  though  I  may  have  done  them  no 
good.  I  have  effected  in  my  life  as  much  as 
was  in  my  power.  I  often  asked  myself,  when 
about  to  act  or  speak,  Would  Jesus  have  acted, 
have  thought,  have  spoken  thus,  had  he  been  in 
like  circumstances  ?  I  have  lived  in  the  Lord, 
and  therefore  I  die  in  the  Lord.  My  Saviour 
lives,  and  I  also  shall  live.  Blessed  is  he  who 
dies  thus,  for  his  works  do  follow  him. 

They  follow  him  to  the  grave.  O  what  fu- 
neral pomp  can  be  compared  to  the  remembrance 
of  our  virtues  by  those  we  leave  behind  us  ;  to 
the  tears  of  affection  with  which  our  friends  dwell 
upon  our  goodness  ;  to  the  respect  with  which 
our  fellow-citizens  cherish  our  memory ;  to  the 
emotion  with  which  even  strangers  exclaim,  Truly 
this  man  may  be  called  blessed  in  death,  for  his 
meritorious  works  follow  him !  yea,  they  follow 
him,  and  will   be    turned   into   blessings   for  his 


230       A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH. 

children  and  his  children's  children.  His  name, 
which  lives  in  the  remembrance  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  is  the  best  recommendation  for  the  rela- 
tives he  leaves  behind  him.  The  world  is  willing 
to  reward  a  deceased  father  and  mother  by  con- 
ferriner  benefits  on  their  children.  In  these  the 
parents  are  honored !  Woe  to  him  who  has 
nothing  to  leave  his  beloved  ones  but  money  and 
money's  worth  !  Riches  vanish,  but  an  honor- 
able name,  acquired  through  the  possession  of 
great  virtues,  is  a  sacred  treasure,  which  neither 
the  flames  of  war,  nor  the  cunning  of  dissemblers, 
nor  the  injustice  of  the  great,  nor  the  violence  of 
the  ruthless,  can  destroy.  When  the  mind  of 
the  dying  can  dwell  complacently  on  this  thought, 
they  enjoy  in  death  unutterable  bliss ;  for  they 
are  conscious  that  "  then'  works  do  follow  them." 
They  follow  them  into  the  better  life  beyond  the 
grave.  Far  above  the  stars,  and  —  let  every 
sinner  tremble  at  the  thought,  and  every  right- 
eous man  rejoice  —  above  the  stars  dwells  retrib- 
utive justice.  The  God  of  justice  lives,  and  I 
shall  live  with  him.  What  I  have  done  to  the 
least  of  Jesus'  brethren  and  mine,  I  have  done 
to  him.  God  will  requite  me  !  The  heart-felt 
thanks  of  the  sufferers  whom  I  have  comforted 
will  be  echoed  in  heaven.  The  glistening  tears 
of  joy  or  emotion  which  a  feeling  heart  sheds  on 
hearing  of  good  deeds  done  by  me  unostentatious- 
ly and  disinterestedly,  are  reflected  in  heaven ; 


A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH       231 

the  deep-felt  but  unobtrusive  praise  —  unheard 
and  unsought  for  by  me  on  earth  —  with  which 
my  companions  mention  the  philanthropic  insti- 
tutions, or  other  works  of  public  utility,  which 
I  have  founded,  will  be  heard  by  me  in  heaven. 
Ah !  what  rapture  must  fill  the  heart  of  the  dying 
man  when  he  can  say  to  himself,  "  Far  from  leav- 
ing behind  me  any  one  who  is  likely  to  curse  my 
memory,  I  may  confidently  hope  that  many  will 
remember  me  with  affection  "  ! 

I  shall  one  day  die !  this  is  beyond  a  doubt. 
But  shall  I,  in  the  hour  of  death,  feel  that  ineffable 
joy  which  sweetens  the  bitterness  of  parting  ? 
Ought  I  not  to  wish  that  it  may  be  so  ?  Is  there 
anything  I  dread  so  much  as  the  hour  of  dissolu- 
tion ?  And  why  not,  then,  endeavor  to  lay  up 
such  store  of  gladness  for  it  as  may  lie  in  my 
power  ?  Ah,  "  blessed  are  they  who  die  in  the 
Lord  "  ! 

How,  if  the  next  night  were  to  be  my  last  ?  or 
the  next  month  ?  (Who  knows  when  the  hour 
may  come  when  God  shall  call  him  from  his 
works  ?)  Should  I,  in  that  case,  taste  the  last 
and  sweetest  of  all  earthly  joys  ? 

If  I  were  doomed  to  die  this  instant,  could  I  lay 
my  head  on  my  death-bed  pillow  with  the  con- 
sciousness that  I  leave  no  one  behind  me  in  the 
world  who  has  reason  to  repent  of  having  been 
connected  with  me  in  any  way  ?  Is  there  no  one 
who,  by  word,  deed,  or  example,  I  have  led  into 


232       A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH. 

sin  ?  No  one  who  needs  blush  in  secret  when  re- 
membering me  ?  Is  there  no  one  whom  I  have 
injured  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow-citizens  by 
envious  gossip,  by  rash  judgment,  or  by  reckless 
sarcasm  ?  Is  there  no  one  who  is  vexed  when  he 
hears  my  name,  because  I  have  maliciously  injured 
his  good  repute  through  love  of  disparagement  ? 
Is  there  no  one  from  whom  I  have  unjustly  taken, 
and  perhaps  still  keep  back,  what  was  his  by  right  ? 
Who  lias  perhaps  failed  to  demand  it  of  me,  be- 
cause I  have  so  cunningly  managed  that  he  did 
not  know  who  was  his  despoiler  ?  Shall  I  leave 
to  my  heirs  property  so  unrighteously  acquired, 
and  to  which  no  blessing  can  attach  ?  Is  there  no 
one  whose  life  I  have  imbittered  by  my  caprices, 
by  my  discontented,  quarrelsome,  domineering  dis- 
position ?  Is  there  no  one  who  may  one  day  la- 
ment that  I  have  not  attended  more  carefully  to  his 
education  ?  Is  there  no  one  whom  I  have  offend- 
ed, and  whose  forgiveness  I  ought  to  seek  ?  Is 
there  no  one  who  has  injured  me,  and  whom  I 
still  hate,  or  with  whom  I  am  still  at  variance  ? 

I  shall  one  day  die  !  that  is  beyond  a  doubt. 
But  shall  I  die  in  the  Lord?  Have  I  lived  in  the 
Lord  ?  Ah  !  I  must  veil  my  face  from  Thee,  O 
Searcher  of  hearts,  O  omniscient  God,  O  most 
holy  Avenger  !  For  I  feel,  when  examining  my- 
self, that  I  am  not  quite  blameless.  I  have  still  to 
repair  much  evil  that  I  have  done.  I  have  still  to 
make  amends  for  many  things  which  it  behooves 


A  JOY  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH.       233 


me  not  to  forget.  I  have  not  always  lived  in 
thee,  my  Saviour,  and  therefore  I  could  not  now 
die  joyfully  in  thee.  It  would  have  been  easy  for 
me  to  confer  some  little  pleasure  on  each  one  of 
my  acquaintances,  and  to  render  them  some  ser- 
vice had  I  availed  myself  of  every  favorable 
opportunity,  and  yet  I  have  rarely  done  so.  Alas  ! 
I  may  have  frequently  done  the  contrary.  Ah  !  I 
hardly  dare  to  think  of  it. 

Yet,  hear  my  promise,  O  omnipresent  God  !  I 
will  think  of  it ;  I  will  improve,  I  will  make  rep- 
aration, I  will  redeem  what  I  have  neglected,  I 
will  live  in  Jesus,  that  I  may  one  day,  blessed  in 
death,  fall  asleep  in  the  Lord,  with  the  conscious- 
ness that  I  leave  no  one  behind  me  who  has  cause 
to  regret  having  known  me.  I  may  therefore 
apply  to  myself  also  the  heavenly  words  :  "  Bless- 
ed are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  hence- 
forth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 
from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them !  " 


THOUGHTS    AT    THE    GRAVES    OF 
THOSE   WE   LOVE. 


Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame, 
Quit,  0  quit  this  mortal  frame : 
Trembling,  hoping,  ling'ring,  flying  ; 
O  the  pain,  the  bliss  of  dying  ! 
Cease,  fond  nature,  cease  thy  strife, 
And  let  me  languish  into  life. 

Hark  !  they  whisper ;  angels  say, 
Sister  spirit,  come  away. 
What  is  this  absorbs  me  quite  ? 
Steals  my  senses,  shuts  my  sight, 
Drowns  my  spirit,  draws  my  breath  ? 
Tell  me,  my  soul,  can  this  be  death  1 

The  world  recedes ;  it  disappears  ! 
Heaven  opens  on  my  eyes  !  my  ears 

With  sounds  seraphic  ring  : 
Lend,  lend  your  wings  !  I  mount !  I  fly  ! 
O  Grave  !  where  is  thy  victory  ? 

O  Death  !  where  is  thy  sting  1 

(Luke  xxiii.  46.) 

LADLY  do  I  turn  my  thoughts  to  you, 
O  beloved  ones,  who  have  gone  before 
me  into  a  better  world  !  O  ye  never- 
*&  to-be-forgotten  objects  of  my  heart's 
devotion,  my  longing  for  you  is  so  great,  that  it 
seems  to  lift  me  above  the  dust  in  which  I  still 


THOUGHTS  OF  THOSE   WE  LOVE.      235 

dwell !  It  is  you  who,  with  angel  hands,  as  it 
"were,  bind  closer  the  ties  that  unite  the  here  and 
the  hereafter,  who  strew  roses  on  the  bed  of  death 
on  which  I  shall  one  day  be  stretched,  and  who 
rob  dissolution  itself  of  all  its  terrors.  To  think 
of  you,  to  hope  for  reunion  with  you,  is  to  add  to 
my  happiness  here  below,  and  is  one  of  the  sweet- 
est duties  of  my  heart's  religion. 

I  know  that  in  remote  times,  when  the  heathens 
saw  the  Christians  praying  at  the  graves  of  those 
they  loved,  and  even  in  our  day,  when  Christianity 
reminds  its  votaries  of  God  and  of  eternity,  the 
religion  of  Christ  was,  and  is  still  called,  a  severe 
and  saddening  worship,  incapable  of  inspiring 
cheerfulness,  contentment,  or  joy  in  life ;  and 
that,  in  consequence,  many  have  turned  away 
from  it.  But  these  contemners  of  Christianity 
have  not  been  sufficiently  acquainted  with  it,  or 
have  judged  it  according  to  the  dark  views  and 
melancholy  dispositions  of  individual  preachers, 
who  loved  to  inspire  their  hearers  with  dread  by 
the  pictures  which  they  drew  of  the  terrors  of  the 
judgment,  and  the  sufferings  of  the  condemned, 
and  by  the  idea  which  they  gave  of  eternity. 
These  men  preached  a  Godhead  as  prone  to  an- 
ger, as  inexorable,  and  as  revengeful  as  themselves. 

Nevertheless,  the  God  of  Christianity  is  the 
God  of  love  and  gladness,  for  he  is  the  Father  of 
the  beings  he  has  created.  The  religion  of  Jesus 
is  a  religion  of  love  and  joy,  for  it  encourages 


236  THOUGHTS  AT  THE   GRAVES 

innocent  cheerfulness,  moderate  enjoyment  of  the 
gifts  of  the  Father,  and  contentment  with  our  lot ; 
its  object  is  perfection  and  happiness ;  and  even 
death,  so  much  dreaded  by  all  creatures,  the  Chris- 
tian religion  disarms  of  its  terrors,  making  it  ap- 
pear as  an  angel  of  love  and  joy,  which  comes  not 
to  destroy  existence,  but  to  lift  it  into  a  higher 
sphere.  The  infidel,  the  man  who  scoffs  at  Chris- 
tianity, may  tremble  at  death,  but  to  the  Christian 
sao-e  it  comes  as  a  friendly  messenger  from  God  ; 
and  for  this  reason  Christians  are  pleased  at  times 
to  contemplate  death.  To  them  the  thought  is  not 
fraught  with  melancholy,  but  with  exquisite  pleas- 
ure, because,  by  raising  expectations  of  a  higher 
bliss  in  the  future  it  makes  the  present  the  more 
delightful.  For  joy  is  always  purest  and  most 
lively  when,  instead  of  contemplating  its  melan- 
choly end,  we  can  look  forward  to  its  uninterrupted 
continuation.  And  such  is  the  hope  of  the  Chris- 
tian. 

Although  on  approaching  the  graves  of  our 
dear  ones,  or  when  communing  in  spirit  with 
them,  a  feeling  of  sadness  may  steal  over  us,  this 
sadness  is  not  unhappiness,  but  a  sweet  uplifting 
of  the  soul  by  a  rapturous  yearning  toward  those 
that  have  gone  before  us.  Know  ye  not  that  bliss 
can  have  its  sadness,  and  silent  joy  its  tears  ?  If 
ye  will  call  this  feeling  pain,  O  then  it  is  a  sweet 
pain,  in  which  there  is  greater  enjoyment  than 
noisy  mirth  reveals.     Know  ye  not  that  when  a 


OF  THOSE   WE  LOVE.  237 

delicate  and  refined  soul  is  most  penetrated  by  joy- 
it  is  most  attuned  to  melancholy,  and  that  this 
feeling  in  its  turn  is  followed  by  serene  composure 
and  tranquil  happiness  ? 

When  a  father  or  a  mother  sinks  down  by  the 
grave  of  a  lost  darling,  or  when  the  sight  of  the 
trifles  which  the  dear  departed  one  was  fond  of  in 
life,  calls  forth  his  memory  in  livelier  colors  ;  when 
a  gentle  and  affectionate  child  treasures  up,  as  a 
sacred  relic  after  the  death  of  father  or  mother, 
some  object  that  has  belonged  to  either  ;  when 
husband  or  wife  separated  from  the  loved  partner 
of  life,  and,  cherishing  the  remembrance  of  their 
mutual  love  and  their  happy  marriage,  places  great 
store  upon  some  ring,  or  some  letters  traced  by  the 
dear  hand  as  a  token  of  the  affection  that  united 
them  in  life,  and  a  symbol  of  the  indissoluble 
union  of  their  souls  ;  when  lovers  early  parted,  or 
when  friends,  brothers,  sisters,  remember  in  soli- 
tude and  retirement  the  dear  ones  they  have  lost ; 
when,  with  many  a  deep-drawn  sigh,  their  lips 
whisper  the  cherished  name  ;  when  their  tears 
falling  on  the  grave  bear  witness  to  their  undying 
affection  ;  —  is  it  pain  and  anguish  which  they  expe- 
rience, or  a  sad  but  heavenly  satisfaction  ?  If  no 
gratification  is  mixed  up  with  these  tears  and  sighs, 
why,  then,  do  we  mortals,  who  are  so  prone  to 
shun  everything  that  is  painful,  so  often  indulge  in 
such  sorrow  ? 

No,  no ;  there  is  nothing  painful  in  the  thought 


238  THOUGHTS  AT  THE   GRAVES 

of  you,  0  my  departed  ones !  Where  there  is 
true  love  there  is  also  true  happiness.  Here  in 
my  imperfect  state  I  still  cling  to  you  with  un- 
changing; devotion  :  here  in  the  dust  I  still  re- 
member  you  with  unaltered  affection.  Ah !  and 
may  I  not  hope  that  you,  in  your  glorified  state, 
though  much  more  perfect  than  I  am,  still  re- 
member with  affection  my  faithful,  loving  heart  ? 
Would  your  happiness  be  heightened  were  you 
not  allowed  to  love  in  return  those  that  love  you  ? 
Would  He,  whose  name  is  Love,  who  binds  mag- 
netically together  distant  worlds  and  stars,  and 
who  has  bestowed  affection  as  the  sweetest  of  his 
gifts  on  all  sentient  beings  under  the  sun ;  would 
he  have  ordained  it  so,  that  the  better  life  be- 
yond the  grave  should  commence  with  the  annihi- 
lation of  that  true  love  which  is  the  universal  law 
of  creation  ?  No,  no  ;  faithful  souls,  in  time  and 
in  eternity,  commune  lovingly  with  each  other, 
and  join  hands  above  the  grave.  I  have  not  for- 
gotten you,  and  ye  are  cognizant  of  my  love ;  ye 
behold  the  tears,  and  hear  the  sighs  with  which 
my  heart  affectionately  calls  to  you.  Ye  are 
aware  of  my  undying  tenderness,  and  ye  respond 
to  it  according  to  the  sublime  conditions  of  your 
higher  existence. 

Flow  freely,  tears  of  sadness  ;  bleed  again  and 
again,  old  and  deep  wounds  of  my  faithful  heart ! 
Ah !  those  who  have  departed  from  me  were 
truly  worthy   of  such   homage.     Ye   are,  as   it 


OF   THOSE    WE  LOVE.  239 

were,  the  sacred  and  only  offerings  wliich  I  can 
now  bring  them.  It  is  a  sweet  pleasure  to  me  to 
think  that  they  to  whom  these  offerings  are  made 
see  them  and  appreciate  them.  Flow,  O  tears ! 
open  again,  O  bleeding  wounds  of  my  heart ! 
With  the  blood  that  gushes  forth  from  these 
wounds  vanishes  gradually  all  that  is  most  sens- 
uous in  me,  and  I  cease  to  cling  so  tenaciously  to 
the  empty  vanities  of  life.  With  this  blood  also 
flows  out  many  of  my  worst  passions  which  in- 
cline me  to  attach  to  the  joys  or  sorrows  of  this 
life  more  value  than  they  deserve.  In  thinking 
of  the  glorified  spirits  my  own  spirit  is  purified, 
and  calm  contentment  spreads  through  my  heart. 
It  is  only  where  faith  in  God  and  immortality  fail, 
and  man  in  his  blindness  believes  that  with  death 
all  ends,  that  this  contentment  can  never  be  felt, 
and  that  sorrow  for  lost  loved  ones  assumes  the 
form  of  dark  despair.  In  those  cases  the  tears 
of  hopeless  grief  become  a  solemn  accusation  of 
cruelty  against  the  Highest  Being,  and  seem  to 
declare  that  man  is  nobler  and  more  full  of  love 
than  the  all-animating  and  all-uniting  Deity  who 
is  enthroned  above  the  stars. 

It  is  folly  indeed  for  the  mourner,  when  think- 
ing of  the  departed,  to  figure  to  himself  only  then* 
earthly  form,  in  all  the  loveliness  with  which  it 
was  invested  in  life,  and  then  to  contrast  it  with 
what  it  is,  as  it  lies  cold  and  inanimate  in  the 
grave,  —  to  think  of  their  former  tender  affection 


240  THOUGHTS  AT  THE   GRAVES 

for  him,  which  now  finds  no  voice  ;  their  former 
joyous  disposition,  and  the  delight  they  took  in 
the  things  of  this  earth,  which  they  have  now  lost 
forever,  as  though  it  were  their  bodies  that  had 
entertained  this  affection  for  him,  as  though  it 
were  their  earthly  ashes  that  had  experienced 
these  feelings  of  delight !  Why,  even  hi  the 
animal,  it  is  not  that  which  it  has  drawn  from 
the  earth,  it  is  not  its  flesh  and  blood  that  experi- 
ence pleasure,  but  a  something  higher  that  dwells 
in  it. 

They  who  mourn  over  the  dead  because  they 
are  no  longer  able  to  enjoy  those  pleasures  of  life 
which  were  dear  to  them  here  below,  may  be 
likened  to  a  child  that  mourns  over  the  departure 
of  a  friend  of  maturer  age,  who  has  left  him  to 
hasten  into  the  arms  of  affectionate  parents,  or 
of  a  loving  bride,  or  to  accept  some  post  of  honor. 
The  child  deplores  that  his  friend  can  no  longer 
take  part  in  his  sports,  but  in  reality,  instead  of 
grieving  for  his  absent  friend,  he  is  weeping  over 
the  abandoned  toys  that  are  laid  aside  as  useless. 
Ought  we  to  feel  pity  for  that  which  is  utterly 
dead,  and  which  is  incapable  of  suffering  ?  But 
such  is  the  state  of  the  body,  the  mortal  coil  of 
the  soul,  the  left-off  garment  of  the  departed 
friend. 

Does  it  not  sometimes  happen  in  our  sorrow, 
that,  giving  ourselves  up  to  strange  delusions  and 
to  mistaken  pity,  we  lament  over  the  fate  of  the 


OF  THOSE   WE  LOVE.  241 

body,  the  outward  form,  while  we  entirely  forget 
the  soul  that  animated  it  ?  For  if  we  thought  0f 
the  spirit,  how  could  we  weep  over  it  as  dead 
when  we  know  that  it  lives  ? 

Frequently,  also,  it  is  the  commiseration  we  feel 
with  the  sufferings  our  beloved  ones  underwent 
in  their  last  illness,  or  in  the  very  hour  of  death, 
that  causes  our  tears  to  flow.  In  these  cases  our 
feelings  seem  more  justifiable ;  yet,  upon  reflec- 
tion, we  shall  find  that  here  also  we  are  deluded 
by  our  senses  and  our  imagination.  I  cannot  be- 
lieve that  death,  i.  e.  the  departure  of  the  soul 
from  the  body,  is  in  itself  painful.  At  all  events, 
it  cannot  be  more  so  than  the  illness  which  causes 
death,  and  yet  the  most  dangerous  maladies  are 
generally  attended  by  the  least  suffering,  how- 
ever terrible  they  may  be  to  witness.  For  how 
often  has  it  not  been  asserted  by  those  that  have 
recovered  from  such  illnesses,  that  when  they 
were  nearest  death  they  suffered  very  little  and 
were  but  partially  conscious  ?  We  also  know 
that  in  distressing  complaints  the  patient  grows 
more  and  more  composed  as  the  moment  of  dis- 
solution draws  nearer,  and  that,  in  many  cases 
of  slow  disease  or  of  decay  of  the  vital  powers 
from  old  age,  death  approaches  so  gently,  that  it 
seems  in  truth  but  a  falling  asleep.  Consequent- 
ly, we  have  a  right  to  conclude  that  dying  is  in 
itself  not  painful,  (for  if  it  were  it  would  be  so 
in  every  case,)  or  at  all  events,  that  it  is  not  more 
11  p 


242  THOUGHTS  AT  THE  GRAVES 

so  than  the  illness  that  precedes  it,  for  otherwise 
death  would  not  bring  with  it  that  increased  com- 
posure, that  painless  stupor,  which  is  so  much  like 
sleep.  Now,  if  you  do  not  weep  and  despairing- 
ly lament  over  those  who  have  recovered  from  a 
severe  illness  because  of  the  sufferings  they  en- 
dured in  its  course,  why  do  you  thus  mourn  for 
those  whom  the  gentle  hand  of  death  has  released 
from  their  sufferings  ?  Were  not  the  pain  and  the 
illness  the  same,  whether  the  patient  recovered  or 
whether  he  died  ?  Yes,  say  you ;  but  the  patient 
who  recovers  finds  in  the  renewed  joys  of  life 
compensation  for  his  past  sufferings !  Ah !  and 
the  glorified  soul  of  the  departed,  does  that  not 
find  far  greater  compensation  in  the  higher  sphere 
to  which  it  is  removed  ?  Is  God  just  to  those  who 
remain  on  earth,  and  unjust  to  all  the  other  beings 
that  people  his  universe,  —  unjust  towards  those 
whom  he  calls  to  himself  with  fatherly  love, 
when  their  time  on  earth  is  completed  ?  In  like 
manner  as  Christ,  when  dying  on  the  cross,  lifted 
up  his  voice  and  cried,  "  Father,  into  thy  hands 
I  commend  my  spirit !  "  so  will  I,  on  the  receipt 
of  intelligence  of  the  dissolution  of  friends,  or 
when  standing  by  the  death-bed  of  those  I  love, 
lift  up  my  voice  and  cry,  Father,  into  thy  hands 
I  commend  their  spirit !  Thou  art  their  God,  — 
as  here  on  earth,  so  also  beyond  the  grave ;  thou 
wert  their  God  before  they  knew  thee ;  thou 
didst  love  them  before  they  loved  thee. 


OF  THOSE   WE  LOVE.  243 

He  who  fears  not  death  feels  it  not,  nor  does 
he  experience  the  awe  that  takes  possession  of 
the  living  at  the  sight  of  it.  Children  who  know 
naught  of  death,  die  quietly  without  anticipating 
it.  To  them,  it  is  but  the  end  of  their  illness. 
They  may  possibly  die  in  cramps  and  convulsions  ; 
but  these  are  no  more  than  a  fearful  play  of  the 
muscles,  which,  though  painful  for  the  bystanders 
to  witness,  is  not  felt  by  the  dying  child.  For 
instance,  what  can  be  more  distressing  to  behold 
than  epileptic  fits  ?  Yet  it  is  well  known  that 
persons  who  labor  under  this  disease  do  not  suf- 
fer, and,  indeed,  are  hardly  conscious  of  being 
subject  to  the  fits,  though  while  in  them  they 
utter  groans  as  if  in  pain,  and  their  features  are 
fearfully  distorted. 

Only  those  that  fear  death  feel  it,  or  rather  feel 
when  it  is  drawing  nigh.  The  uneasy  conscience 
trembles  at  the  thought  of  the  judgment.  The 
approach  of  death  awakens  in  the  heart  the  dark 
despair  of  a  too  tardy  remorse.  There  is  some- 
thing inexpressibly  fearful  in  the  thought  of  being 
unable  —  at  the  very  moment  when  life  and  all 
its  joys  are  about  to  fail  us — to  say,  "Father, 
into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit "  ! 

Yet  we  should  be  mistaken  were  we  always  to 
attribute  either  the  apparent  nervous  apprehen- 
sion, or  the  calm  composure  of  the  dying,  to  the 
character  of  the  life  they  have  led  in  this  world ; 
for   experience   teaches    that   the    most    lovable 


244  THOUGHTS  AT  THE   GRAVES 

and  innocent  children  frequently  die  under  what 
seems  great  uneasiness;  while,  on  the  contrary, 
the  greatest  sinners  have  breathed  their  last  with 
unalterable  outward  composure.  What  we  wit- 
ness when  standing  at  the  bedside  of  the  dying 
is,  as  a  general  rule,  merely  the  effects  of  the 
malady  on  the  body  and  its  vital  powers.  What 
is  going  on  in  the  spirit  of  him  who  is  about  to 
depart,  while  apparently  sunk  in  a  state  of  stupor, 
who  shall  say  ?  Those  who  have  seen  ruthless 
criminals  led  out  to  die  by  the  hand  of  the  execu- 
tioner, in  the  full  vigor  of  life,  will  know  that 
such  persons  frequently  meet  their  death  with 
great  apparent  composure.  But  is  it  possible  to 
believe  that  this  outward  calm  is  the  consequence 
of  inward  peace  ? 

Even  good  and  pious  people  are,  in  many  cases, 
rendered  uneasy  at  the  thought  of  their  dissolu- 
tion, merely  because  they  allow  their  imagination 
too  much  scope,  and  endeavor  to  picture  to  them- 
selves what  they  will  feel  in  their  last  moments. 
They  shudder  at  the  thought  of  having  to  ex- 
change all  that  is  dear  and  familiar  to  them  on 
earth  for  the  unknown  and  unfamiliar.  But  this 
anxiety  would  soon  vanish,  were  they  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  the  wisdom  of  God,  as  it  is  re- 
vealed throughout  the  entire  system  of  nature. 
They  would  then  see  that  what  they  look  upon  as 
unknown  is  in  reality  quite  familiar  to  them,  and 
that  what  they  so  much  dread  ought  rather  to 


OF  THOSE   WE  LOVE.  245 

awaken  feelings  of  pleasure.     They  would  know 
that  the  new  life  they  are  to  enter  is  only  another 
and  more  glorious  gift  of  their  Heavenly  Father, 
than  that  which  he  bestows  when  he  calls  us  into 
this  earthly  existence.     Hast  thou  not  full  confi- 
dence   in   the   providence   of  thy  all-loving  and 
all-seeing  Father  in  heaven  ?     Why,  then,  dost 
thou  tremble  ?     Does  the    child  tremble   at  the 
thought  of  the  Christmas  gift  it  is  to  receive  from 
its  parents,  though  what  this  may  be  is  quite  un- 
known to  it  ?     The  better  lot  that  God  has  pre- 
pared for  us  is  like  a  kind  and  fatherly  gift,  to 
which  we  ought  to  look  forward  with  pleasure 
and  joyful  trust.      When  a  human  being  enters 
as  an  infant  into  this  life,  which  he  has  never  seen 
or  felt ;  when  his  loving  mother  presses  him  for 
the  first  time  with  a  warm  welcome  to  her  bosom ; 
when  the  father  bends  joyfully  and  tenderly  over 
the  new-comer  and  blesses  him,  does  the  child 
shrink  back  in  fear  from  the  unknown  and  the 
unfamiliar  ?     How  kindly,  with  how  many  tender 
caresses,  is  he  not  greeted  by  all  ?     How  grad- 
ually he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  new  things 
that  surround  him  !      Now  picture  to  yourselves 
that  man  had,   previously  to  his  appearance   on 
this  earth,  lived  in  another  world  and  under  far 
more  perfect  conditions ;    do  you  conceive   that 
even  in  that  case  he  would  find  the  things  of  this 
life  so  very  strange  ?     And  in  the  life  to  which 
death  is  the  introduction,  we  may  be  assured,  the 


246  THOUGHTS  AT  THE   GRAVES 

welcome  we  shall  meet  with  will  not  be  less  kind 
and  loving  than  that  with  which  we  were  received 
here  ;  perhaps,  indeed,  the  former  will  far  surpass 
the  latter.  For  in  yon  life  preparations  have 
already  been  made'  for  our  happiness ;  there  are 
dear  ones  there  awaiting  our  coming. 

Why  should  I  doubt  this,  and  doubt  it  merely 
because  it  is  not  known  to  me  ?  Had  not  God 
made  preparations  for  my  reception  on  earth,  and 
provision  for  my  happiness  here,  before  I  was 
born  ?  Who  thought  of  me  before  I  came  ? 
Who  measured  out  my  joys  to  me,  before  I  had 
a  heart  to  feel  them  ?  Who  meted  out  my  suf- 
ferings, before  I  knew  what  tears  were  ?  Was  it 
not  my  eternal,  all-loving  Father  ?  Well,  and 
he  who  thought  of  me  before  I  was,  before  I 
knew  him,  —  will  he  forget  me  now  that  I  am  ? 
Will  he  forsake  me  now  that  I  love  him  in  return, 
and  have  learnt  to  call  him  Father  ?  Will  he 
leave  me  unprovided  for  now  that  I  worship  Mm, 
and  with  wondering  awe  adore  him  in  his  crea- 
tion ? 

Ah,  no  !  Father  in  heaven,  thou  wilt  not,  thou 
canst  not  do  this  !  Thou  canst  not,  thou  wilt  not 
abandon  the  spirits  whom  thou  hast  created,  when 
they  have  but  just  attained  the  consciousness  of 
thy  existence  and  of  their  own !  Thou  wert 
their  God  before  they  existed;  thou  art  their 
God  as  long  as  they  dwell  in  this  world ;  and 
thou  wilt  be  their  God  when  they  enter  into  the 


OF  THOSE   WE  LOVE.  247 

higher  existence  which  thou  hast  prepared  for 
them  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  !  With 
rapture,  with  a  presentiment  of  unutterable  joy, 
I  think  of  the  hereafter,  where  I  shall  find  thee, 
my  God,  and  where  I  shall  again  meet  all  the 
dear  ones  whom  thou  didst  bestow  on  me  here  on 
earth  !  Ah  !  what  a  moment  that  will  be,  when 
I  shall  feel  myself  transferred  to  heaven  !  What 
bliss  to  be  reunited  with  all  the  loved  ones, 
whom  thou,  O  Father,  hast  bound  to  me  by  the 
ties  of  affection !  With  lips  tremulous  with  joy, 
I  shall  one  day  utter  the  prayer,  "  Father,  into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit."     Amen. 


THE  THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 


0,  hope  of  immortality, 

Let  all  my  soul  be  filled  with  thee, — 

Teach  me  the  ways  of  holiness, 

And  when  I  fail,  sustain  and  bless. 
O,  Godlike  gift,  by  God  designed, 
Thee  do  I  ever  bear  in  mind,  — 

"Why  should  sad  thoughts  my  heart  oppress  ? 

And  when  to  full  perfection  brought, 

Then  shall  I  see  and  know  aright 
God's  mercy,  passing  human  thought, 

Rejoicing,  shall  I  bless  the  sight. 
From  doubts  which  made  me  tremble  here, 
The  shadowing  veil  shall  disappear, 

And  all  be  glory  and  delight. 

(1  Tim.  vi.  12.) 

'ERHAPS  there  is  not  one  of  the  many 
=  »  sacred  subjects  of  reflection  presented 
liailiff  to  the  mind  by  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  so  strongly  rivets  the 
attention  as  the  doctrine  and  hope  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul.  For  the  love  of  life,  and  the 
desire  for  its  continuance,  is  deeply  implanted  in 
the  human  breast.  However  full  of  tribulation 
this  earthly  life  may  be,  mortal  man  does  not 
willingly    yield    it    up.       However    loudly    the 


THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY.        249 

pious  hypocrite  may  proclaim  this  lovely  world  of 
God's  to  be  a  land  of  misery  and  a  vale  of  tears, 
he  does  not  the  less  desire  to  abide  in  it,  and  he 
recoils  with  a  shudder  from  that  death,  which  he 
so  often  extols  as  his  deliverer  from  the  wretch- 
edness of  this  life.  Up  to  the  moment  when  they 
breathe  their  last  sigh  the  dying  still  hope  to  live ; 
this  hope  often  accompanies  the  criminal  to  the 
very  steps  of  the  scaffold,  and  solaces  the  con- 
demned in  his  dark  prison  cell. 

It  is  this  love  of  life  that  inspires  all  mortals 
with  a  secret  horror  of  death,  which  at  the  same 
time  fills  them  with  faith  in  the  continued  exist- 
ence of  their  soul  after  the  dissolution  of  the 
body.  In  this  love,  by  which  the  wisdom  of  the 
Creator  has  bound  us  as  with  almost  indissoluble 
ties  to  life  here  on  earth,  he  has  also  revealed  to 
our  minds  their  sublime  destination.  All  peoples, 
when  once  awakened  from  the  stupor  of  mere 
animal  life,  embrace  with  ardor  the  idea  of  a  life 
beyond  the  grave.  All  religions,  even  those  of 
savao-e  tribes,  teach  that  the  soul  enters  into  a 
state  of  bliss,  or  appears  before  the  judgment- 
seat,  in  a  future  life.  But  the  Christian  has  a 
more  confident  hope  than  others.  He  has,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  revelation  of  God  through  human 
reason,  the  revelation  of  God  through  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ.  In  like  manner  as  Jesus  conquered 
death,  so  shall  we  also  conquer  death,  and  change 
the  perishable  for  the  imperishable. 
11* 


250        THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 

Even  the  most  frivolous  mind  cannot  laugh 
away  the  thought  of  eternity.  Even  the  most 
lukewarm  Christian,  who  lives  in  this  world  as 
though  he  were  to  dwell  in  it  forever,  cannot 
always  escape  from  thoughts  of  the  grave.  Even 
the  reprobate  who,  abandoned  to  his  own  passions, 
follies,  and  vices,  exerts  all  his  wits,  and  brings 
forth  every  possible  argument,  to  disprove  the 
existence  of  an  avenging  God  in  the  universe, 
and  to  throw  discredit  on  the  belief  in  the  immor- 
tality of  that  part  of  his  own  being  that  thinks 
and  wills  and  works  so  wonderfully  in  the  body, 
—  even  he  is  sometimes  involuntarily,  in  the 
midst  of  his  dissipation,  compelled  to  think  of 
God  and  eternity.  The  thought  forces  itself 
upon  him  as  an  indestructible  and  eternal  truth. 
He  thinks  and  shudders.  "  The  devils  also  be- 
lieve and  tremble  !  "  says  St.  James  (ii.  19). 

There  are  three  testimonies  in  favor  of  the 
truth  that  man  was  not  created  for  this  short  life 
alone,  and  that  he  belongs  not  only  to  earth,  but 
also  to  a  higher  existence,  —  the  world  of  spirits, 
which  no  frivolity,  no  wit,  no  power  of  argument, 
can  destroy.  And  these  testimonies,  which  are 
found  among  all  nations  of  the  world,  are  :  the 
universal  belief  in  a  God,  the  universal  presence 
of  a  conscience,  or  an  inward  judge  in  man,  and 
the  universal  faith  in  eternity.  These  intuitive 
ideas  are  indeed  the  educators  and  the  preservers 
of  the  human  race. 


THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY.         251 

In  truth,  what  would  the  world  be  without 
these  three  great  ideas  ?  Where  would  be  the 
power  capable  of  curbing  and  taming  man,  in  the 
frenzy  of  passion  the  most  destructive  of  animals, 
were  these  three  great  ideas  to  vanish  from  the 
world  ?  Picture  to  yourself  the  human  race, 
with  its  wild,  all-consuming  desires,  left  to  itself, 
without  faith  in  God,  without  the  feeling  of  right 
and  wrong,  and  without  the  conception  of  a  con- 
tinued existence  after  death.  What  safety  would 
there  be  for  life  or  property  ?  Would  an  oath  be 
respected  ?  Would  law  have  power  to  bind  ? 
Would  an  army  inspire  fear  ?  Would  innocence 
be  held  sacred  ?  Would  tears  have  power  to 
move  ?  No  ;  all  the  horrors  of  hell  would  be 
perpetrated  under  the  heavens.  Violence,  cun- 
ning, and  cruelty  would  reign  supreme.  Assas- 
sination would  precipitate  ruler  and  subject  alike 
into  the  grave.  The  earth  would  soon  be  con- 
verted into  a  depopulated  waste,  similar  to  what 
it  was  before  it  was  trodden  by  the  foot  of  man. 

If  the  thought  of  eternity  can  produce  so 
powerful,  so  magical  an  effect,  even  on  the 
savage,  what  influence  must  it  not  exercise  over 
the  Christian,  who,  having  received  the  revela- 
tion of  Jesus,  and  being  admitted  into  his  king- 
dom, has  little  to  hope  on  earth,  but  everything 
to  look  forward  to  in  eternity  ?  What  must  it  be 
to  the  Christian  who  can  say  with  Christ,  My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,   and  not  on  this 


252         THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 

earth  is  my  home,  but  in  the  eternal  dwelling- 
place  of  God,  in  the  high  heavens,  in  my  Father's 
house  ? 

And  yet  (who  can  deny  it  ?)  even  in  pious 
Christians  the  thought  of  death  and  of  the  state 
of  the  soul  in  the  future  life  does  not  always 
awaken  such  feelings  as  might  be  expected. 
Sometimes  it  depresses  the  mind  too  much ; 
sometimes  it  gives  rise  to  an  exaggerated  con- 
tempt for  this  earthly  existence  ;  sometimes  it 
degenerates  into  fruitless  meditations  upon,  and 
inquiries  into,  the  probable  condition  of  the  soul 
after  death,  and  leads  to  all  kinds  of  delusions  ; 
sometimes  it  imbitters  our  best  joys  on  earth. 

Such  ought  not  to  be  the  effects  of  the  thought 
of  eternity.  In  what  manner,  then,  ought  my 
mind  to  be  occupied  with  the  subject?  What 
effect  ought  it  to  produce  upon  me  ? 

To  every  Christian  the  thought  of  eternity 
should  be  as  an  intimate  friend,  whose  presence 
is  not  irksome,  however  frequently  he  may  visit 
him,  and  whose  unexpected  reappearance,  after 
long  absence,  would  cause  no  surprise. 

But  if  it  is  to  be  this,  we  must  in  reality  first 
endeavor  to  make  ourselves  quite  familiar  with  it. 
We  must  be  intimately  acquainted  with  it.  We 
must  know  what  we  have  to  fear  or  to  hope  from 
it.  Only  an  intimate  friend  is  received  with  a 
smiling  welcome,  whether  he  come  often  or  come 
seldom. 


THE   THOUGHT   OF  ETERNITY.         253 

It  is  the  Christian's  duty,  therefore,  to  make 
the  thought  of  the  future  life  his  constant  com- 
panion,  and  never  to  repel  it  when  it  approaches. 
It  will  never  be  to  him  other  than  a  reminder  of 
the  eternal,  unalterable  destination,  to  which  each 
hour  that,  passes,  each  step  we  take,  draws  us  so 
much  nearer. 

Besides,  we  find  the  thought  so  frequently  in 
our  path,  that  to  evade  it  is  almost  impossible. 
A  fresh  grave-mound  in  the  churchyard,  or  a 
withered  flower;  the  news  of  a  battle  in  which 
thousands  have  fallen,  or  of  the  illness  of  an 
acquaintance  ;  the  walk  we  take  to  brace  our  ex- 
hausted system,  or  our  nightly  retiring  to  sleep ; 
the  house  in  which  we  live,  and  in  which  others 
have  died ;  or  the  remembrance  of  parents,  hus- 
band, or  wife,  children,  sisters,  and  brothers,  or 
friends  who  have  gone  before  us,  —  all  these  must 
ever  be  leading  to  the  thought  of  the  mysterious 
future  beyond  the  grave. 

Well,  then,  as  the  thought  cannot  remain  a 
stranger  to  us,  let  us  make  a  familiar  friend  of 
it ;  let  us  endeavor  to  correct  our  ideas  of  eterni- 
ty ;  let  us  endeavor  clearly  to  define  what  it  will 
be  to  us,  and  in  what  relation  we  stand  to  it. 

Not  that  we  ought  to  allow  ourselves  to  in- 
dulge  in  useless  speculations  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  future  life,  and  the  exact  conditions  to  which 
our  souls  will  there  be  subject.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  do  this  in  order  to  become  familiar  with 


254        THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 

the  thought  of  eternity.  Such  inquiries  can  only 
end  in  making  the  wise  man  feel  the  limits  be- 
yond which  humanity  cannot  reach,  the  bounds 
which  his  reason  cannot  overstep ;  while  the  un- 
wise will  be  led  by  them  into  mental  delusions, 
into  groundless  suppositions,  and  be  .encouraged 
in  visionary  tendencies,  which  may  be  dangerous 
to  the  peace  of  weak  minds,  and  which,  in  all 
cases,  must  exercise  an  injurious  influence  on 
thought  and  action,  and  also  on  physical  health. 
Millions  of  men  have  dwelt  on  the  mysteries 
of  the  future  life  before  thee,  O  mortal !  without 
succeeding  in  solving  them.  For  the  veil,  which 
the  hand  of  God  has  drawn  before  that  future, 
is  impenetrable.  And  no  ponderings  of  thine 
will  enable  thee  to  lift  it,  until  God  calls  thee. 
Desist,  therefore,  from  senseless  attempts  to 
throw  light  upon  the  nature  of  the  soul  in  eter- 
nity, upon  its  local  habitation  after  leaving  the 
body,  upon  its  occupations  in  the  other  life. 
Heed  not  either  the  spoken  or  the  written  words 
of  those  who  have  woven  for  themselves  a  web 
of  visionary  delusions  regarding  these  matters 
which  are  hidden  from  human  ken ;  and  who, 
in  their  foolish  presumption,  have  sometimes  even 
gone  so  far  as  to  attempt  to  prove  the  correctness 
of  their  views  from  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Alas  ! 
how  can  they  hope  to  penetrate  the  mysteries  of 
eternal  life,  whose  weak  mental  sight  does  not 
even  suffice  to  comprehend  the  wonderful  things 


THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY.        255 

of  this  world,  to  fathom  the  mysterious  laws  of 
creation,  which  they  behold  in  action  before  their 
eyes  each  day  of  their  life !  How  dare  they 
deem  themselves  wiser  than  the  All-wise,  who 
has,  not  without  good  reason,  enveloped  the 
future  in  this  beneficent  darkness !  How  dare 
they  venture  to  measure  their  strength  against 
the  strength  of  the  Lord,  whose  hand  has  drawn 
the  curtain  before  the  wonders  of  eternity ! 

To  become  familiar  with  the  thought  of  eter- 
nity means,  to  remind  ourselves  as  often  as  an 
opportunity  occurs,  that  we  are  born  into  ever- 
lasting life  ;  that  God's  inexhaustible  fatherly  love 
-is  infinite,  like  the  existence  of  our  souls  ;  that  the 
hand  which  has  already  bestowed  on  us  here  on 
earth  so  many  joys  and  exquisite  gratifications, 
will  not  be  less  generous  of  its  gifts  when  we 
whave  rendered  ourselves  worthy  and  capable  of 
still  higher  enjoyments ;  that  the  mercy  of  the 
almighty  and  all-loving  Creator,  which  has  from 
the  beginning  of  time  ruled  over  the  measureless 
universe,  and  which  has  also  called  our  souls  from 
nothingness  into  being,  will  continue  so  to  rule 
through  all  eternity;  that  if  we  have  firm  and 
unwavering  faith  in  Him,  any  fate  that  may  be- 
fall us,  and  thus  also  the  change  in  death,  must  be 
for  our  good,  but  that  we  can  only  feel  secure  of 
a  happier  lot  beyond  the  hour  of  death  when  we 
have  fitted  ourselves  for  it;  that  the  only  way 
to  make   ourselves  worthy  of  it  is  by  growing 


256         THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 

in  goodness  during  this  life,  according  to  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Divine  Jesus ;  that  as  on  earth  our 
happiness  increases  with  our  growth  in  wisdom 
and  virtue,  so  also  will  unutterable  bliss  be  our 
reward  in  eternity;  that  by  neglecting  our  souls 
in  this  life,  and  only  satisfying  those  instincts  and 
desires  which  belong  to  the  body,  we  condemn 
ourselves  to  imperfection  and  to  a  grievous  and 
terrible  fate  after  death  ;  that  he  who  neglects 
his  soul  here  on  earth,  were  he  even  to  gain  the 
whole  world,  will  be  the  poorest  in  the  world  of 
spirits,  where  only  spiritual  treasures,  not  earthly 
glories,  have  any  value. 

This  is  what  the  Holy  Scriptures  teach  us. 
This  is  what  Jesus,  the  Saviour,  the  Judge  of  the 
world,  teaches,  when  he  says,  "  And  shall  come 
forth :  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resur- 
rection of  life  ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto 
the  resurrection  of  damnation."  (St.  John  v.  29.) 
"  Therefore,  my  beloved  brethren,  be  ye  stead- 
fast, immovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work 
of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that  your 
labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  (1  Cor.  xv. 
58.) 

If  we  join  these  considerations  to  the  thought 
of  eternity,  it  will  never  occur  to  us  without  re- 
calling the  necessity  of  improving  our  minds  and 
dispositions.  Each  time  our  thoughts  dwell  upon 
the  solemn  future  will  come  the  question :  "  But 
have  I  done  anything  to  merit  a  more  glorious 


THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY.         257 

existence  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave  ?  Has 
my  soul  sanctified  itself  through  Jesus,  so  that  I 
may  look  forward  joyfully  to  the  lot  that  awaits 
me  there  ?  " 

For  to  think  of  the  eternal  life  hereafter,  with- 
out at  the  same  time  determining  to  qualify  our- 
selves for  it,  would  be  but  self-delusion,  dead  faith. 
But  when  it  stimulates  us  to  goodness  and  noble 
action  in  this  world,  it  is  an  angel  that  leads  us  on 
in  the  ways  of  Jesus,  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord ; 
and  as  we  progress  in  amendment  and  perfection, 
it  will  gradually  become  more  and  more  to  us  a 
thought  full  of  quiet  satisfaction,  of  heavenly  calm. 

It  will  then  never  awaken  in  us  without  calling 
forth  also  thoughts  of  the  beloved  souls  with 
whom  we  held  intercourse  on  earth,  and  who 
have  gone  before  us.  We  shall  then  never  think 
of  eternity  without  a  rapturous  thrill  at  the  re- 
membrance of  some  departed  friend  who  died  in 
youth,  or  of  parents  or  children,  or  of  a  beloved 
spouse,  or  of  sisters  and  brothers.  Ah !  will  the 
the  highest,  the  infinite  Love  ;  will  God  who  is 
love,  —  God,  who  united  our  souls  so  intimately 
here  on  earth,  —  will  he  part  us  yonder  ?  Will 
he  sever  souls  whom  he  has  created  .for  each 
other,  will  he  separate  them  hi  heaven,  "  where 
God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  ; 
and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow, 
nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more 
pain  "  ?     (Rev.  xxi.  4.) 


258         THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 

The  thought  of  eternity  will  never  awaken  in 
us  without  reminding  us  of  our  higher  destination. 
We  cannot  meditate  on  our  future  existence  with- 
out at  the  same  time  thinking  of  how  fleeting  and 
perishable  is  everything  here  below.  We  shall 
thus  be  led  to  contemplate  with  composure  that 
which  previously  caused  us  poignant  grief,  and  to 
feel  more  strongly  than  before  that  it  is  folly  to 
give  ourselves  up  to  never-ending  regret  for  things 
which  were  not  given,  but  only  lent  to  us.  For 
all  that  we  possess,  earn,  or  enjoy  on  earth  does 
not  belong  to  us,  but  to  the  earth.  We  are  only 
allowed  temporary  use  thereof.  Nothing  but  the 
increased  perfection  of  the  spirit,  to  reach  which 
all  that  we  have  enjoyed  on  earth  was  lent  us  as 
a  means, — nothing  but  this  perfection,  this  in- 
nate nobility  of  the  spirit,  can  save  the  spirit,  be- 
cause, as  part  and  parcel  of  its  being,  it  can  never 
be  separated  from  it,  and  because  it  belongs  not 
to  the  minute  points  in  time  and  space  which  we 
call  life  and  earth,  but  to  eternity. 
0  But  though  the  thought  of  eternity  does  and 
ought  to  awaken  in  us  the  consciousness  of  the 
nothingness  of  life,  it  ought  not  to  render  us  indif- 
ferent to  ihe  beauties  and  attractions  of  our  pres- 
ent existence.  It  ought  not  to  fill  us  with  melan- 
choly and  sadness,  or  with  contempt  of  the  world ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  to  encourage  us  to  a  wise 
and  cheerful  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  that  God 
in  his  goodness  has  bestowed    upon  us.     Why, 


THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY.        259 

indeed,  should  we  despise  a  life  which  we  have  re- 
ceived from  the  hand  of  a  loving  Creator  ?  Why- 
should  we  contemn  a  world  which  God  has 
created  and  adorned  with  countless  wonders  ? 
Would  it  not  be  very  blameworthy  if  the  child, 
impatient  to  become  wise  and  learned,  were  to 
disdain  the  school  in  which  alone  knowledge  could 
be  acquired  ?  What  inconsistency !  you  exclaim. 
But  we  fall  into  an  equally  striking  inconsistency 
when  we  disdain  or  fear  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
this  life,  because  of  our  expectations  of  still  greater 
joys,  which  God  will  one  day  bestow. 

O  man !  small,  insignificant  plant  as  thou  art, 
put  forth  thy  buds  first,  and  develop  thy  leaves 
and  branches,  if  thou  wouldst  in  time  stand  forth 
a  perfect  tree. 

Nay,  the  thought  of  eternity  does  not  forbid 
our  enjoying  this  world  and  all  the  good  that  it 
brings,  but  is,  on  the  contrary,  calculated  to  en- 
courage such  enjoyment.  Instead  of  repelling  us 
from  this  life,  it  ought  to  bind  us  closer  to  it.  For 
here  we  are  to  prepare  for  the  future ;  —  here 
on  earth,  amid  happiness  and  unhappiness,  amid 
flowers  and  thorns,  is  the  school  in  which  we  are 
to  be  formed  for  eternity.  How  deplorable  is  the 
cowardice  or  the  insanity  of  the  self-murderer, 
who,  troubled  by  earthly  cares,  with  presumptu- 
ous hand  bursts  asunder  the  bonds  which  bind 
him  to  this  life,  in  the  hope  that  he  will  meet  a 
happier  lot  in  the  other  world !     Who  appointed 


260        THE    THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY. 

his  lot  here  below  ?  If  lie  prepared  it  for  himself 
by  his  own  misdeeds,  then  how  can  he  hope  to  be 
in  the  next  existence  a  higher,  better,  more  per- 
fect beino-  than  he  was  in  this  ?  Or  if  God  sent 
him  misfortunes  to  try  him,  why  does  he  with- 
draw from  the  guidance  of  his  wise  Creator  and 
Father  ?  Does  he  think  that  his  wilfulness,  his 
pusillanimity,  will  work  a  change  in  the  eternal 
counsels  of  the  All-wise  ?  Does  he  think  that  he 
can  escape  from  God  and  his  divine  guardian- 
ship? 

In  full  reliance  on  the  guiding  hand  of  his 
Heavenly  Father,  and  with  unalterable  faith  in 
the  immortality  of  the  spirit,  as  it  has  been  re- 
vealed to  all  men,  the  Christian  will  endeavor 
to  apply  to  the  elevation  and  purification  of  his 
soul  whatever  may  befall  him  here  on  earth,  -*- 
whether  he  gain  for  himself  friends,  honors, 
riches,  or  meet  with  hatred,  poverty,  and  shame. 
He  will  love  this  earth  as  the  school  in  which  he 
is  preparing  to  take  his  place  in  a  higher  rank. 
He  will  contemplate  without  fear  the  termination 
of  life's  journey. 

"  So  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  in  • 
corruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  im- 
mortality, then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying 
that  is  written  :  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
O  death !  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave  !  where 
is  thy  victory  ?  But,  thanks  be  to  God,  who  giv- 
eth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  !  " 


THE   THOUGHT  OF  ETERNITY.        261 

When  once  my  spirit,  freed  from  dust, 
Shall  to  my  Saviour  whom  I  trust,  — 

To  thee,  my  own  Messiah,  fly, 
When  once,  0  mother  earth !  this  shell, 
In  which  the  immortal  soul  doth  dwell, 

Within  thy  parent  lap  shall  lie; 

What,  then,  is  mine  ?     What  bliss  unbounded ! 
With  what  bright  world  am  I  surrounded  i 

What  ami?  say,  what  shall  I  be  1 
What  streams  of  rapture  through  me  flow. 
Is 't  I  ?  are  these  my  limbs  that  glow  1 

This  Godlike  splendor,  is 't  for  me  1 
I  am  transformed,  released  from  dust,— 

Whose  throne  is  there  ?     Who  calls  me  now  ? 
Ah !  it  is  God,  in  whom  I  trust,  — 

0  my  Messiah,  it  is  thou  ! 

0  Lord,  thy  truth,  it  faileth  never. 
Tor  life  renewed  I  thank  thee  ever. 

1  shall  not  to  thy  judgment  come,  — 
My  foe  subdued,  in  chains  doth  lie,  — 
Death 's  swallowed  up  in  victory. 

And  I,  I  rest  not  in  the  tomb. 
Hail,  Lord !  All  honor,  might,  are  thine. 

Saviour  !  from  thee  my  life  doth  spring! 
The  angelic  choir  I  haste  to  join, 

And  loudest  hallelujahs  sing. 


«fe^?S 


INTERPRETATIONS    OF   ETERNITY. 

First    Meditation. 

GOING  IN  TO  THE  FATHER. 

A  house  of  clay  thou  buildest  me, 

Wherein  my  thoughts  to  treasure, 
And  with  thy  grace,  my  God,  and  thee, 

To  fill  my  faltering  measure  ; 
And  as  I  better  know  thy  ways, 
To  exercise  my  heart  in  praise, 
And  by  thy  Spirit  led,  to  prove 
A  deeper,  and  yet  deeper  love. 

Never  to  die,  —  0  ne'er  to  die  ! 
My  heart  shall  scorn  and  doubt  defy 
To  rob  it  of  its  glorious  faith 
In  a  new  life,  surviving  death. 
Say  I  should  die,  —  unto  thy  side 
Thou,  God,  wilt  be  my  faithful  guide ; 
My  soul  triumphant  sounds  the  strain,  — 
Death  is  not  loss,  but  endless  gain. 

(John  xiv.  28.) 

ORDINARY  people  are  loath  to  think 
of  death,  and  yet  there  are  so  many 
things  that  remind  them  of  it !  They 
ti^&s^l^  near  deceased  persons  spoken  of,  or 
meet  a  funeral  procession,  or  learn  that  an  ac- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      263 

quaintance  has  been  called  away  from  this  world, 
or  their  thoughts  revert  to  persons  they  have 
loved,  whose  ashes  are  reposing  in  the  earth ;  and 
in  each  case  there  is  that  which  must  remind 
them  that  no  exception  to  the  general  laws  of 
nature  can  be  made  in  their  favor.  The  man 
who  never  thinks  of  the  hour  of  death  without 
a  shudder,  sleeps  away  as  gently  as  he  who  has 
been  longing  for  dissolution.  And  yet  ordinary 
people  are  loath  to  think  of  death  and  the  grave. 
This  is  very  natural.  Even  were  the  innate  love 
of  life  not  so  intense  as  it  is  in  every  mortal,  it 
would  not  be  surprising  that  he  should  recoil  from 
thoughts  of  death,  as  they  are  opposed  to  every- 
thing that  is  most  delightful  in  life.  Death  puts 
an  end  to  our  hopes,  destroys  our  favorite  plans 
and  projects,  cuts  us  off  from  our  most  cherished 
habits,  and  with  unbending  and  irresistible  power 
separates  us  from  parents,  children,  and  friends. 
Alas  !  it  has  already  torn  from  us  many  of  life's 
best  jewels. 

"  And  if  this  be  so,  why  should  we,  by  frequent 
thoughts  of  death  and  the  grave,  mar  the  few 
pleasures  we  have  in  life  ?  Let  us  enjoy  while 
we  can,  without  foolishly  imbittering  our  own 
lot." 

Thus  say  many.  Nay,  there  are  many  who 
reproach  the  Christian  religion  with  being  gloomy 
and  austere,  because  it  is  ever  reminding  its  fol- 
lowers of  the  nothingness  of  life,  and  of  death 
and  judgment. 


264      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

But,  in  truth,  he  who  cannot  think  cheerfully 
of  death  has  probably  never  thought  cheerfully 
and  rationally  of  life.  To  those  to  whom  death 
is  a  mysterious,  and  therefore  repugnant  image, 
life  itself  can  be  little  more  than  a  confused  rid- 
dle ;  for  they  cannot,  as  yet,  have  any  clear 
conception  of  the  purpose  of  their  existence. 
The  question  as  to  our  being  or  not  being  ra- 
tional creatures  does  not  so  much  depend  upon 
what  it  is  pleasant  to  us  to  think,  as  upon  what 
we  are  by  our  nature  compelled  to  think.  But  it 
is  religion  that  solves  the  enigma  of  life,  and 
thereby  gives  us  the  key  to  the  mystery  of  death. 
So  far  is  true  Christianity  from  depressing  the 
spirits  and  rendering  men  morose,  that,  on  the 
contrary,  by  the  views  of  death  which  it  incul- 
cates it  elevates  its  wise  followers  above  every 
grief,  and  above  every  fear,  and  enables  them  to 
enjoy  the  manifold  pleasures  of  life  with  imper- 
turbable composure,  whether  their  last  hour  be 
nigh  at  hand  or  far  off.  If  the  religion  of  Jesus 
in  reality  do  this,  what  is  there  to  find  fault  with  ? 
Why  should  we  avoid  thoughts  which  will,  in 
spite  of  all  our  endeavors,  force  themselves  upon 
us  ?  There  is  not  a  human  being  who  has  not 
sustained  some  loss  in  the  course  of  his  life  ;  how 
will  he  avoid  being  reminded  of  this  ?  It  is  life 
itself,  it  is  our  hearts,  that  recall  to  us  our  painful 
losses ;  but  it  is  religion  that  consoles  us,  and  rec- 
onciles us  to  them,  by  the  exalted  views  which  it 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      265 

imparts  of  the  divine  universe  and  the  divine 
mode  of  action. 

Which  of  your  dear  ones  do  you  already  count 
among  the  dead?  Perhaps  a  father,  who  was 
your  guardian  angel  on  earth?  Perhaps  a 
mother,  who  loved  you  above  all  others  ?  Per- 
haps a  brother,  who  walked  by  your  side  full  of 
youthful  hopes  ?  Perhaps  a  sister,  for  whom  you 
felt  as  if  she  were  your  second  self?  Or  if  you 
be  father  or  mother,  poor  mourners,  perhaps  it  is 
a  child,  the  sweetest  blossom  and  hope  of  your 
lives  ?  Or  is  it  a  noble-minded  husband,  or  a 
gentle,  faithful,  loving  wife  ?  Which  of  these 
cherished  ones  is  it  that  you  count  among  the 
departed  ?  Whichever  it  may  be,  is  the  memory 
of  this  lost  one  not  dear  to  you,  since  you  shud- 
der at  the  thought  of  death  when  it  steals  upon 
you  in  tranquil  hours  ?  Your  heart  bled  at  your 
painful  loss,  and  the  wound  is  not  yet  healed. 
Alas  !  there  are  wounds  that  never  heal  in  this 
life.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  time  cures  all 
wounds.  But  for  those  that  it  cannot  cure,  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  has  a  soothing  balm. 

It  is  possible  that,  in  some  quiet  hour  of  enjoy- 
ment, the  thought  of  death  and  corruption  may 
suddenly  fill  you  with  a  sensation  of  horror,  and 
that  every  fibre  of  your  body  may,  as  it  were, 
revolt  against  dissolution.  Nay,  so  overwhelmed 
may  you  be  by  the  terrible  thought,  that  it  may 
seem  to  you  better  that  you  should  never  have 
12 


266      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

received  life,  than  to  be  obliged  to  yield  it  up 
again.  But  these  painful  feelings  are  not  caused 
by  the  melancholy  views  inspired  by  religion,  but 
by  your  own  innate  love  of  life.*  Christianity,  on 
the  contrary,  chases  away  all  fear  of  death,  by 
allowing  us  to  cast  a  glance  into  a  future  beyond 
the  grave,  where  life,  activity,  and  joy  prevail,  as 
they  do  here. 

Do  you  think  that  the  Saviour,  the  Light  of  the 
world,  came  in  vain  to  reassure  us  as  to  our  im- 
mortality, and  our  ultimate  destiny  ?  And  how 
does  he  describe  death  ?  He  who  had  more  ter- 
rible experience  of  its  horrors  than  any  mortal, 
doomed  as  he  was  to  die  in  the  full  prime  of  his 
strength  and  years,  in  the  possession  of  unimpaired 
health,  with  the  consciousness  of  spotless  inno- 
cence, and  to  die  the  death  of  a  criminal?  He 
called  it  going  in  to  the  Father  ! 

And  with  him  every  Christian  says,  with  truth, 
to  die  is  to  go  in  to  the  Father,  for  Jesus'  Father 
is  also  our  Father.  The  Creator  of  the  Seraphim, 
as  of  the  lowliest  zoophyte,  is  also  our  Creator. 

What  a  cheerful  conception  is  not  that  of  our 
departure  from  this  earth  as  a  going  in  to  the 
Father  ! 

We  ought  at  all  times  to  speak  of  our  own  and 
our  friends'  demise  in  these  terms  ;  then  death, 
which  the  excited  imagination  of  timid  men  has 
presented  to  us  under  the  form  of  a  hideous  skele- 
ton, would  appear  as  a  friendly  spirit,  come  to 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      267 

help  us  across  the  boundaries  of  life,  and  to  usher 
us  into  the  Father's  presence.  In  reality,  many 
of  the  terrors  with  which  death  is  invested,  and 
of  the  false  notions  concerning  it  which  prevail, 
originate  in  the  erroneous  and  revolting  designa- 
tions which  have  been  given  to  it.  Thus  some- 
times it  is  called  decay  and  corruption ;  but  we  do 
not  decay,  nor  are  we  given  up  to  corruption. 
At  other  times,  to  die  is  to  leave  the  world ;  but 
we  never  leave  the  world,  because  this  is  in  itself 
impossible.  At  other  times,  again,  death  is  termed 
destruction  ;  but  we  cannot  be  destroyed.  No  ; 
to  die  is  to  go  in  to  the  Father ;  our  souls  merely 
cast  off  their  unsuitable  garments  to  clothe  them- 
selves in  worthier  raiment. 

The  shudder  caused  by  the  images  in  which  we 
speak  of  death  is  owing  to  their  being  borrowed 
from  the  condition  of  the  soulless  body,  and  their 
being  consequently  false.  Every  other  false  con- 
ception is  in  like  manner  repugnant  to  us,  because 
of  its  being  at  variance  with  the  laws  of  reason, 
while  imagination  endeavors  in  vain  to  make  that 
which  is  unreasonable  conceivable. 

The  condition  of  the  corpse  in  the  grave  is  not 
our  condition,  but  merely  that  of  the  covering 
which  we  have  cast  off.  When  we  cut  our  hair 
with  a  pair  of  scissors,  is  that  which  is  taken  off, 
and  which  is  thrown  away,  part  of  ourselves  ? 
Nay,  how  little  does  this  separation  affect  us  ! 
When  the  warrior  loses  a  limb  in  battle,  and  sees 


268      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

it  consigned  to  the  earth,  does  he  feel  that  the 
condition  of  this  limb  forms  part  of  his  own  state  ? 
Nay,  the  limb  decays,  but  he  feels  it  not.  He 
still  exists,  and  is  conscious  of  being  something 
quite  distinct  from  that  which  is  capable  of  cor- 
ruption. 

And  what  is  our  earthly  coil  to  us  ?  It  is  but 
the  worn-out  or  damaged  raiment  of  the  immortal 
spirit.  Why  do  we  not  shudder  every  day  of  our 
lives  at  the  decay  of  our  bodies,  for,  in  truth,  they 
do  decay  daily?  According  to  the  observations 
of  profound  thinkers  and  physicians,  the  body  of 
a  man  undergoes  a  total  change  several  times  in 
the  course  of  a  moderately  long  life,  so  that  as 
youths  and  maidens  we  no  longer  bear  the  same 
body,  the  same  flesh  and  blood,  as  in  childhood; 
and  in  old  age  again,  the  body  is  almost  entirely 
a  different  one  from  that  possessed  in  manhood. 
But  we  are  not  aware  of  these  transformations, 
because  they  take  place  through  means  of  imper- 
ceptible, natural  processes.  Is  it,  then,  reasonable 
to  conclude  that  the  final  transformation,  whereby 
we  are  entirely  separated  from  the  coarse  earthly 
covering  that  invests  us  here,  will  be  perceptible 
to  ourselves  ?  Has  any  one  ever  been  able  to 
observe,  as  regards  himself,  the  gentle  merging  of 
the  waking  state  into  sleep  ?  How  many  persons 
have  not  died  with  such  full  consciousness  that 
death  was  approaching,  that  they  have  seemed 
narrowly  to  observe  themselves  during  the  won- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      269 

derful  transition.  There  are  even  instances  of 
their  having  been  able  to  prognosticate  —  we 
know  not  by  what  means  —  the  precise  moment 
of  their  dissolution,  and  their  prognostications 
have  been  pretty  exactly  borne  out  by  the  event. 
But  were  any  of  these  persons,  who  so  calmly 
departed,  ever  known  to  show  signs  of  pain  or 
aversion  while  the  gradual  withdrawal  of  the  soul 
from  the  body  was  taking  place  ?  Indeed,  even 
those  who  have  departed  amid  sufferings  caused 
by  the  disturbance  of  the  inward  functions  of  the 
body,  ceased  to  experience  pain  when  the  sweet 
moment  of  the  final  disseverance  drew  nigh. 

Away,  then,  with  all  repugnant  images  of  death, 
borrowed  from  the  empty,  cast-off  garment  of  the 
soul,  which  is  resolved  again  into  dust  and  ashes. 
This  garment  is  not  our  real  self.  Our  real  self  is 
immortal.  All  nature,  as  well  as  the  revelations 
which  we  have  received  through  Jesus,  whom 
the  Father  sent,  and  who  returned  to  the  Father, 
teaches  us  this.  Without  this  faith,  —  which  is, 
indeed,  more  than  faith,  for  it  is  a  beautiful  and 
deep-seated  sentiment  of  the  soul,  a  law  of  the 
spirit,  —  God  would  not  be  God,  the  world  would 
be  no  world,  reason  would  not  be  reason,  and  all 
our  thinking  and  planning  would  be  but  the  idle 
dreams  of  madness. 

Before  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  world  — 
then  so  much  nearer  the  first  days  of  creation 
than  now  —  knew  how  to  build  cities,  to  manu- 


270      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

facture  weapons,  and  to  weave  clothes  for  them- 
selves, they  were  already  familiar  with  the  idea 
of  the  existence  of  a  supreme,  almighty,  and  be- 
neficent Being,  and  had  the  consciousness  of  their 
own  immortality.  And  thousands  and  thousands 
of  years  will  still  pass  over  this  terrestrial  globe  ; 
every  spot  on  its  surface  will  be  changed ;  where 
now  are  deserts,  mighty  cities  may  rise  in  their 
pride  ;  and  cities,  in  which  kings  and  emperors 
are  now  enthroned  in  pomp  and  splendor,  may  be 
converted  into  deserts,  in  winch  hardly  a  ruin 
survives  to  tell  of  what  has  been.  But  the  con- 
sciousness of  their  own  immortality,  and  of  the 
existence  of  God,  is  as  little  likely  to  change  in 
the  generations  of  men,  as  the  laws  of  nature,  by 
which  the  universe  is  sustained,  are  likely  to  be 
destroyed.  If  there  have  at  any  time  been  mor- 
tals who  have  doubted,  or  who  have  even  denied, 
the  immortality  of  their  own  souls,  such  persons 
have  always  been  looked  upon  as  diseased  in 
mind,  or  as  making  a  false  use  of  their  mental 
powers  by  giving  themselves  up  to  insane  spec- 
ulations. 

Some  philosophers  have  attempted  to  demon- 
strate the  inextinguishable  belief  of  man  in  the 
continuance  of  his  own  existence,  by  words  and 
arguments,  in  the  same  manner  as  self-created 
conceptions  and  calculations  are  demonstrated. 
But  immortality  is  not  a  self-created  conception, 
an  idea  invented  by  man,  as  it  were,  but  a  bloom- 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      271 

ing  forth,  or  a  development  of  the  thinking  being ; 
and  we  can  as  little  prove  it  in  words,  as  we  can 
prove  that  we  have  the  consciousness  of  our  pres- 
ent existence.  It  is  enough  that  we  are,  and  that 
we  have  the  consciousness  of  our  being.  Through 
this  consciousness  alone  is  every  other  idea  ren- 
dered possible. 

But,  in  reality,  men  are  much  less  anxious  to 
discover  so-called  proofs  of  their  immortality, 
(which  are,  after  all,  superfluous  because  of 
their  intuitive  belief  in  it,)  than  they  are  to  as- 
certain of  what  nature  will  be  the  existence  of  the 
spirit  hereafter  ;  what  will  be  its  fate  and  its  feel- 
ings after  the  separation  from  the  body ;  what 
may  be  that  which  we  call  eternity. 

Human  curiosity  loves  to  hover  round  the  mys- 
teries of  the  future  state  of  the  soul,  and  many 
dreamy  visions  have  been  indulged  in  concerning 
life  hereafter.  This  curiosity  is  natural  and  par- 
donable. It  has  its  source  in  our  innate  love  of 
life,  and  our  consciousness  of  immortality.  But 
we  ought  never  to  forget,  that  as  human  crea- 
tures, who  have  but  five  very  imperfect  senses, 
through  means  of  which  we  can  acquire  knowl- 
edge of  the  universe,  we  occupy  as  yet  a  very 
low  place  in  the  infinite  scale  of  beings  ;  and  that, 
therefore,  it  is  as  impossible  for  us  to  form  a  con- 
ception of  what  our  spirit  will  be,  and  will  know, 
when  placed  amid  totally  different  circumstances, 
as  it  is  for  a  man  born  blind  to  conceive  what  he 


272     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

would  be,  and  would  see,  were  a  new  sense  — - 
i.  e.  sisht  —  to  be  vouchsafed  to  him,  and  all  the 
influences  of  the  universe  were  in  consequence 
to  rush  in  upon  him  through  a  hitherto  unknown 
portal  of  the  mind.  We  must  not  forget  that 
just  as  impossible  as  it  is  for  the  human  spirit, 
here  on  earth,  to  know  itself  and  its  essence, 
just  as  impossible  is  it  that  it  should  be  able 
to  know  what,  according  to  the  nature  of  its 
essence,  it  will  be  when  the  dark  veil  is  raised 
which  covered  it  here  on  earth  in  the  form  of 
a  body. 

We  have  received  revelations  through  Jesus, 
whom  God  sent  to  the  human  race,  and  these 
revelations  are  expressed  in  terms  adapted  to 
the  powers  of  comprehension  possessed  by  man. 
Without  being  a  disembodied  spirit  already  dwell- 
ing in  eternity,  it  is  impossible  to  form  correct 
conceptions  of  that  which  lies  beyond  the  hour 
of  transformation.  Jesus,  however,  spoke  of 
death  as  a  going  in  to  the  Father,  a  union  with  the 
Deity.  He  gave  us  the  assurance  of  meeting 
again  in  eternity.  He  promised  to  the  more  per- 
fect spirits  unutterable  bliss,  and  to  sinners  stern 
and  just  retribution. 

Ah !  this  must  suffice  for  us ;  it  is  enough  to 
know  God's  omnipotence  and  almighty  love  on 
earth,  and  in  this  to  feel  full  assurance  as  to  the 
future,  and  even  heavenly  rapture.  For  this  love, 
so  almighty  already  here  on  earth,  and  so  clearly 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      273 

manifested  eacli  day  that  passes  over  us  ;  this  love 
revealed  to  us  by  Jesus,  and  also  by  nature,  will 
it  cease  when  the  breath  and  the  blood  in  our 
bodies  cease  their  action  ?  Would  that  be  a  love 
worthy  of  the  Eternal  Being,  the  Universal  Fa- 
ther, towards  his  creatures,  which  should  be  dis- 
continued after  the  lapse  of  a  few  brief  moments  ? 
No  ;  God,  whom  I  am  forced  to  conceive  as  In- 
finite Perfection,  whom  I  worship  as  such  in  the 
smallest  as  in  the  greatest  of  his  creations,  —  God 
is  as  undeniably  an  eternal,  loving,  watchful  Fa- 
ther, ever  bestowing  happiness  on  his  children,  as 
he  is  in  himself  eternal,  and  as  I  am  a  creation 
of  his  love ;  and  in  our  Father's  house  there  are 
many  mansions. 

But  to  what  he  has  called  me,  whither  he  will 
one  day  transport  me,  what  I  shall  then  be,  — 
that  I  shall  never  fathom  here  on  earth.  But  in 
like  manner  as  we  perceive  (I  can  hardly  say  un- 
derstand) here  on  earth  already  the  majesty  of 
the  loving  and  almighty  One  in  his  wonderful 
works,  so  also  we  can  form  a  vague  conception 
of  the  future  in  the  present.  In  the  universe,  as 
we  perceive  it  now,  we  see  a  reflection  of  the 
glory  of  which  we  shall  once  be  partakers.  In 
time,  we  find  indications  of  eternity.  The  more 
we  study  the  creations  of  the  Father  of  the  uni- 
verse as  they  appear  to  us  on  this  side  the  grave, 
the  greater  number  of  signs  of  eternity  do  we 
discover,  the   greater  number  of  foreshadowings 

12*  R 


274     INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

of  what  the  creations  of  the  Lord  after  death 
may  be. 

He  who  knows  God  can  feel  no  alarm  at  the 
thought  of  the  hour  of  departure  from  this  earth- 
ly existence.  And  the  more  we  convince  oar- 
selves,  through  the  study  of  his  works,  of  the 
wisdom,  the  power,  and  the  love  of  the  Father, 
—  how  imperishable,  how  conformable  to  their 
end,  how  perfectly  organized,  are  all  his  crea- 
tions, —  the  more  inwardly  assured  we  shall  feel 
that  his  unalterable  wisdom,  power,  and  love,  dif- 
fused throughout  the  immeasurable  universe,  will 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places  encompass  our  spirits, 
and  that  wherever  they  be,  they  will  be  of  his 
blessed  kingdom. 

He  who  knows  the  world,  the  illimitable,  eter- 
nal world,  does  not  feel  alarm  at  the  departure 
from  this  earth,  which  is  but  as  a  grain  of  sand 
when  compared  to  the  infinite  universe.  But  he 
has  but  a  very  feeble  conception  of  the  greatness 
of  God  who  believes  this  earth  which  we  inhabit 
to  be  the  centre  of  his  glorious  creation,  round 
which  revolve  all  the  suns  and  the  planets  of  the 
universe.  Alas  !  the  observations  of  astronomers 
make  it  more  than  probable,  that  we  and  our 
earth,  far  from  beino;  in  the  centre  of  the  uni- 
verse,  are  placed  in  the  outer  circle  of  innumera- 
ble world-systems ;  and  that  hence  it  is,  that 
whereas  the  rest  of  creation  appears  to  us  in  all 
its  sublime  regularity  and  order,  the  starry  heav- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      275 

ens,  on  the  contrary,  present  to  onr  eyes  an  ap- 
pearance of  confusion,  —  the  innumerable  worlds, 
that  beam  upon  us  as  distant  stars,  being  thinly 
scattered  over  the  expanse  in  one  direction,  and 
in  another  densely  crowded  together.  If  the 
star  which  we  inhabit  occupied  a  more  elevated 
or  a  more  depressed  position  in  the  choir  of  glo- 
rious spheres,  the  spectacle  presented  by  the 
star-bespangled  heavens  would  probably  exhibit  to 
our  eyes  the  same  wonderful  regularity  and  order 
that  strike  us  in  the  rest  of  creation.  Thus,  to 
a  person  placed  in  an  unfavorable  position  on  the 
outside  of  a  regularly  planted  grove,  the  trees 
may  seem  placed  without  any  attention  to  order 
or  system,  and  may  appear  to  him  to  form  a  con- 
fused labyrinth ;  whereas,  if  placed  in  the  centre, 
or  any  other  favorable  point  of  observation,  he 
will  instantly  perceive  the  beautiful  regularity  of 
the  plantations. 

He  who  has  any  knowledge  of  the  universe, 
knows  that  in  the  great  totality  of  things  there 
is  not  an  atom  that  does  not  endure  forever,  — 
that  the  whole  is  but  a  wide-spread  realm  of 
the  most  manifold  forces.  These  forces  endure, 
though  the  phenomena  under  which  they  pre- 
sent themselves  change.  The  human  spirit  is  a 
force  in  this  sense.  Its  effects,  i.  e.  its  thoughts, 
its  wishes,  its  utterances,  change  and  are  perish- 
able ;  but  the  spirit  itself  does  not  perish  with  the 
words  it  utters.     Light  is  not  diminished  by  the 


276      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

rays  emitted  by  it.  It  is  said  that  flowers  are 
evanescent,  and  they  are  so,  because  they  are  but 
phenomena  of  eternally  present  original  forces. 
But  though  the  flowers  vanish,  the  forces,  which 
represent  their  elementary  principle,  do  not  cease 
to  exist  in  the  universe. 

And  there  is  one  great  all-pervading  law  which 
I  recognize  in  the  universe  of  God.  It  is  this  : 
Everything  is  resolved  into  elements  similar  to  itself. 
Water  sends  up  vapors  which  gather  into  clouds 
in  the  sides  ;  and  these  fall  again  as  dew  and 
rain,  and  again  form  bodies  of  water.  Flowers, 
animals,  the  human  body,  all  these  having  sprung 
from  the  earth,  and  having  been  nourished  with 
earthlv  substances,  in  time  return  to  earth. 

Now,  just  as  the  unconscious  forces  or  sub- 
stances, after  going  through  a  variety  of  combi- 
nations, return  to  their  original  families,  so  will 
the  self-conscious  forces,  the  rational  beings,  the 
spirits  who  conceive  God,  return  again  to  their 
original  spiritual  family.  According  to  the  all- 
pervading  law  of  God  in  nature,  my  body  will 
in  death  return  to  earth,  but  my  spirit  will  soar 
up  to  its  original  home.  Is  not  this  universal  law 
of  nature  a  sign  from  eternity  ?  Have  I  under- 
stood it  correctly?  Have  I  understood  rightly 
what  thou  didst  mean,  O  Jesus,  my  Divine  En- 
lightener,  when  speaking  to  thy  beloved  disciples 
of  thy  approaching  death,  and  endeavoring  to 
prepare  them   for  the  heavy  trial,  thou  saidst : 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.     277 

"If  ye  loved  me,  ye  would  rejoice  that  I  have 
said  I  go  to  the  Father ;  for  the  Father  is  greater 
than  I !  " 

O,  when  my  time  comes,  and  the  angel  of 
peace  from  the  better  world,  whom  we  call  death, 
kisses  me  and  bears  me  away  from  earth,  then  do 
not  weep,  O  my  beloved  ones !  for  I  also  shall 
then  have  gone  in  to  my  Father !  Weep  not 
for  my  cast-off  earthly  coil,  for  I  also  shall  have 
rejoined  my  original  family  in  my  true  home, 
in  the  beautiful  world  of  blessed,  self-conscious 
spirits.  I  shall  have  gone  home  to  the  beloved 
ones,  the  eternally  beloved,  the  never-forgotten 
ones,  whom  I  had  lost  here  below,  and  for  whom 
I  so  often  pined.  Weep  not,  for  ye  have  no 
reason  to  weep,  as  little  as  I  had  to  grieve  for 
those  who  went  in  to  glory  before  me.  Yonder 
are  all  those  to  whom  my  heart  cleaved,  the  cost- 
liest jewels  of  my  life  ;  yonder  are  those  to  whom 
the  Father  bound  me  by  ties  of  unalterable  love  ; 
yonder  is  Jesus,  and  yonder  is  God,  to  whom  I 
come  through  Jesus !  Weep  not !  to  you  also 
will  come  the  happy  moment  when  you  shall  go 
hi  to  the  Father !  Round  the  lips  of  your  corpse 
also  will  hover,  to  the  consolation  of  those  you 
leave  behind,  the  smile  of  joyful  trust  with  which 
you  have  hastened  into  the  better  world !  Not 
here,  but  yonder,  is  our  home,  our  true  life ! 
Blessed  are  you  and  I,  for  there  is  no  death,  only 
a  going  in  to  the  Father ! 


INTERPRETATIONS    OF   ETERNITY. 


Second   Meditation. 


THE   FUTURE   LIFE. 

Father,  my  heart  exults  itself  in  this  : 

That  thou  hast  not  created  me  for  naught ! 
Such  happiness  is  mine,  —  with  so  much  bliss 

Even  this  transient  dream  of  life  is  fraught,  — 
How  little  is  it  that  mine  eyes  can  see 
Here,  0  my  God !  or  understand  of  thee, 
Yet  e'en  that  little  is  great  joy  to  me 

My  life  may  vanish  from  this  earthly  sphere 
More  swiftly  than  an  idle  dream  of  night ; 

I  know  I  am  immortal,  and  that  there 

Mine  eyes  shall  ope  more  clearly  to  the  light. 

Thee  shall  I  see,  my  Father,  as  thou  art ; 

And  there  my  joy,  which  now  is  but  in  part, 

Endless  and  perfected,  shall  fill  my  heart. 

(Matthew  xxii.  29,  30.) 


HE  consciousness  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  dates  from  the  beginning 
of  the  human  race.  Therefore  this 
'4*  conviction  is  found  to  exist  even 
among-  the  most  savage  tribes  in  the  most  distant 
countries,  whither  no  ray  of  revealed  religion,  or 
of  Western  or  Eastern  enlightenment,  has  ever 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      279 

penetrated.  Thus,  from  the  beginning  of  crea- 
tion, there  has  been  but  one  voice,  one  hope,  one 
aspiration,  in  regard  to  eternity.  And  it  was 
the  Deity  himself  who,  in  creating  self-conscious 
spirits,  implanted  in  them  this  intuitive  faith. 
Now  the  infinite  perfection  of  God  cannot  im- 
part delusions.  And  why  should  it  impart  delu- 
sions, when  it  holds  in  its  hand  the  unbounded 
realm  of  realities  ? 

But  though  perfect  agreement  exist  throughout 
the  human  race  as  to  the  belief  that  the  higher, 
self-conscious  power  that  animates  the  body  does 
not  cease  to  exist  when  the  animal  or  corporeal 
life  becomes  extinct,  the  notions  formed  by  the 
nations  of  the  world  as  to  the  nature  of  the  future 
life  vary  much.  For  these  notions  naturally  dif- 
fer according  to  the  degree  of  mental  develop- 
ment, and  the  amount  of  experience  and  of  knowl- 
edge of  God's  works  possessed  by  men  at  various 
periods  and  in  different  parts  of  the  globe.  Thus, 
for  instance,  in  early  times,  before  voyages  round 
the  world  and  scientific  observation  had  proved 
that  our  earth  is  a  globe,  floating  freely  in  space, 
and  revolving  daily  on  its  own  axis,  and  yearly 
round  the  sun,  it  was  believed  that  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  condemned  souls  was  situated  under 
the  earth,  and  that  there  they  were  tortured  by 
means  of  the  flames  which  were  sometimes  seen 
to  issue  from  volcanoes.  In  the  present  day 
every  child  in  our  schools  knows  that  our  earth 


280     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  heavens,  and  that 
it  is  only  one  of  the  smaller  bodies  which  move  in 
regular  orbits  through  infinite  space.  Before  men 
were  enabled  by  means  of  the  telescope  to  deter- 
mine the  magnitudes,  distances,  and  orbits  of  the 
stars  nearest  to  our  globe,  all  the  celestial  lights 
were  believed  to  be  equally  distant  from  us,  and 
beyond  these  were  located  the  abodes  of  the 
blessed,  where  they  were  supposed  to  revel  in 
joys  and  occupations  as  sensual  as  those  on  earth. 
In  the  present  day,  every  child  at  school  also 
knows  that  each  star  is  a  world,  and  that  the 
universe  is  an  infinity  of  worlds. 

Every  people  and  every  religious  sect  have 
thus  had  notions  of  their  own  as  to  the  abodes  of 
the  blessed  and  of  the  lost  spirits,  just  as  at  all 
times  the  child  and  the  sage  entertain  very  dif- 
ferent views  of  one  and  the  same  object. 

When  Jesus  Christ  first  appeared  among  the 
Jewish  people  and  began  to  teach,  he  found  the 
professors  of  the  Mosaic  religion  divided  into 
several  sects.  For  instance,  the  Essenes,  who  led 
a  very  strict  and  secluded  life,  and  ascribed  the 
greatest  importance  to  pious  actions  and  absti- 
nence from  all  sensual  gratifications ;  the  Phari- 
sees, who,  on  the  contrary,  placed  great  value  on 
outward  religious  ceremonies,  and  exacted  the 
most  rigid  observance  of  the  doctrines  and  rules 
laid  down  by  Moses,  or  handed  down  by  tradition, 
and  who  were  held  in  highest  estimation  among  the 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      281 

people  ;  and  the  Saclducees,  who  rejected  all  oral 
tradition,  and  denied  many  of  the  doctrines  taught 
by  the  Pharisees,  among  others,  that  of  the  res- 
urrection of  the  dead.  One  day,  when  convers- 
ing with  Jesus,  the  Sadducees,  either  with  a  view 
to  satisfy  then*  own  doubts,  or  in  the  hope  of  con- 
founding him,  supposed  certain  earthly  and  social 
relations  to  be  carried  over  into  the  future  life, 
and  then  put  questions  regarding  them,  and  ex- 
pressed the  misgivings  of  their  minds  on  the  sub- 
ject. If  a  woman  marry  seven  men  in  this  life, 
whose  wife  shall  she  be  in  eternity  ?  asked  they. 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  "  Ye  do  err, 
not  knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of 
God.  For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  mar- 
ry, nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  an- 
gels of  God  in  heaven."     (Matt.  xxii.  29,  30.) 

Similar  to  these  doubts  of  the  Sadducees  are 
the  strange  reasons  which  people  deduce  from 
every-day  life,  and  with  which  they  disturb  their 
own  minds  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  soul 
after  death.  The  hand,  which  can  feel,  but  can- 
not hear,  might  be  inclined  to  deny  the  rolling  of 
the  thunder,  because  it  could  not  form  a  concep- 
tion of  it;  yet  the  ear  hears  the  thunder,  and 
knows  that  it  exists. 

Thus  many  persons  ask,  Shall  we  retain  con- 
sciousness and  memory  when  we  change  our 
body?  For  if  not,  though  our  spirit  may  con- 
tinue to  exist,  this  continued  existence,  without 


282      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

consciousness  or  memory  of  the  past,  will  be  tan- 
tamount to  a  life  as  new  as  if  it  were  then  for  the 
first  time  introduced  into  the  world,  and  death 
must  in  consequence  be  looked  upon  as  a  kind  of 
annihilation. 

These  doubts,  like  those  of  the  Sadducees,  arise 
out  of  the  circumstances  and  events  of  this  earthly 
life.  Comparison  is  made  between  the  state  of 
the  soul  after  death  and  its  condition  during  sleep 
or  syncope,  when  it  is  unconscious  of,  or  does 
not  remember,  what  has  been  done  to  the  body. 
And  this  is  sufficient  to  cause  uneasiness. 

O  ye  of  little  faith,  let  me  repeat  to  you  Jesus' 
words,  "  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures, 
nor  the  power  of  God  "  ! 

Can  we,  with  any  show  of  reason,  make  com- 
parisons between  things  quite  dissimilar,  or  even 
diametrically  opposed  to  each  other  ?  Or  be- 
tween things,  one  of  which  we  only  know  par- 
tially, and  the  other  of  which  we  know  not  at  all  ? 
Between  the  spirit  still  held  in  earthly  bonds,  and 
the  self-dependent  spirit  emancipated  from  these  ? 
How  the  spirit  acts  on  the  body  we  know  only  in 
part ;  how  it  will  appear  when  in  the  enjoyment 
of  full  freedom,  and  unfettered  by  the  dust  which 
now  clings  to  it,  we  know  not  at  all. 

Sleep  and  syncope  are  therefore  poor  compari- 
sons as  regards  the  condition  of  the  soul  after  its 
separation  from  the  body.  It  is  true  we  know 
nothing  of  what  happens  to  us  during  sleep  or 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      283 

syncope,  and  we  remember  naught  of  what  has 
taken  place.  This  is  not,  however,  owing  to  the 
spirit  having  ceased  to  exist  during  the  interval, 
but  to  the  senses  having  become  incapable  of  re- 
ceiving outward  impressions,  and  of  providing  for 
the  thinking  power.  When  we  close  our  eyes,  we 
do  not  see,  but  the  spirit  nevertheless  continues 
its  inward  life  and  activity.  When  sleep  or  syn- 
cope close  all  the  senses,  so  that  no  impressions 
can  be  conveyed  through  them,  the  spirit  is  not  the 
less  alive  and  active,  although  it  knows  naught  of 
what  is  going  on  without,  in  the  world  of  sense. 
What  surprising  and  wonderful  evidence  of  this  is 
not  afforded  by  so-called  sleep-walkers  !  Or  has 
it  not  happened  to  all  of  us,  at  one  time  or  an- 
other, to  awaken  out  of  a  deep  sleep  without  hav- 
ing any  recollection  whatsoever  of  having  dreamt, 
(although  our  souls  must  have  been  active  during 
the  interval,)  because  the  lively  impressions  re- 
ceived from  without  on  awaking  have  thrown 
back  the  images  of  the  dream  into  the  shade,  until 
suddenly  they  are  recalled  to  our  mind,  and  we 
become  convinced  that  we  have  had  ideas  even  in 
sleep  ? 

Thus  the  soul  of  the  dying  man  likewise  contin- 
ues to  live  and  to  be  active  ;  but  as  his  senses  are 
gradually  closing,  he  also  becomes  unconscious  of 
what  is  going  on  in  the  outer  world.  The  spirit 
of  the  dying  man  does  not  perceive  death,  because 
its  own  life  continues  as  before.     It  knows  naught 

S3 


284     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

of  the  bed  of  death,  of  the  sorrowing  relatives 
who  stand  around  it,  for  impressions  from  the 
outer  world  no  longer  come  to  it  through  the  ex- 
tinguished senses.  But  when  the  condition  be- 
gins,  in  which,  separated  from  the  dust,  from  flesh 
and  blood  and  nerves,  it  lives  in  its  self-depend- 
ent purity,  —  then  all  points  of  comparison  fail  us. 
The  force  continues  its  activity,  conscious  of  its 
being,  and  God  indicates  to  it  the  new  path  it 
has  to  follow.  The  past  and  the  present  must 
be  one  to  the  glorified  soul,  —  for  it  saw  not 
death,  it  remained  as  before,  a  self-conscious 
power.  It  enters  into  new  combinations.  It 
goes  in  to  the  Father.  Its  lot  is,  as  the  re- 
vealed word  tells  us,  —  Glorification. 

"  Ye  know  not  the  power  of  God,"  said  Jesus 
to  the  sceptical  Sadducees.  What  mortal,  indeed, 
knows  the  majesty,  the  boundless  nature  of  this 
power  of  God,  which  is  everywhere  present  in 
the  infinite  universe  ?  But  so  much  do  we  know, 
that  whatever  God  has  ordained  in  his  kino;dom  is 
sublime,  magnificent,  wonderful,  bliss-inspiring, 
and  wise,  —  in  that  realm  there  is  nothing  petty, 
nothing  defective,  nothing  superfluous,  nothing 
ignoble !  And  surely  the  entrance  of  the  soul 
into  the  state  of  original  purity,  and  emancipation 
from  the  fetters  of  earth,  will  not  be  less  solemn 
than  is,  here  below  even,  every  impression  re- 
ceived of  the  glory  of  the  Father  of  the  universe. 

The   emancipation   of   the   soul  from  its  frail 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     285 

earthly  shell  is  the  triumph  of  the  spiritual  power 
over  the  dead  forces  of  nature.  No  fine-spun 
arguments  and  interpretations  will  help  us  here : 
before  the  power  of  God  our  boldest  fancies  fail, 
and  the  most  extensive  knowledge  seeks  in  vain 
the  limits  of  his  infinite  might.  Any  picture  we 
may  form  to  ourselves  of  the  state  of  the  eman- 
cipated and  glorified  soul  cannot  be  otherwise 
than  mean,  foolish,  derogatory,  for  it  must  be 
borrowed  from  things  that  are  as  little  compar- 
able to  the  glory  of  the  heavens  as  a  drop  of  dew 
is  to  the  wondrous  ocean. 

Ye  know  not  the  power  of  God  ;  ye  know  not 
what  career  it  has  opened  to  the  emancipated 
soul ;  ye  know  not  in  what  new  raiment  this  soul 
may  possibly  be  veiled  when  it  hastens  towards 
him,  towards  the  Father ;  ye  know  not  what  new 
views  of  the  universe  may  burst  upon  it  at  the 
moment  of  the  great  change  in  its  condition.  In 
like  manner  as  a  world  inhabited  exclusively  by 
persons  born  blind,  would  have  no  language  to 
express  the  varied  beauties  of  color  and  form,  the 
brightness  of  the  heavens,  or  the  blue  tints  of 
distance,  so  do  we  lack  the  faculty  to  comprehend, 
and  the  means  to  describe,  the  phenomena  of  the 
future  life.  Indeed,  our  language  and  imagery 
in  a  great  measure  contribute  to  obscure  that 
which  might  be  clear  to  us  even  here  on  earth, 
and  give  us  confused  notions  of  that  which  is  in 
itself    perfectly    simple.       Thus    the    expressions 


286     INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 


u 


eternity,"  and  "beyond  the  grave,"  are  mis- 
understood by  many.  People  frequently  picture 
to  themselves,  in  connection  with  these  terms, 
something  quite  separate  from  our  time,  and  ex- 
isting entirely  by  itself;  something  that  is,  as  it 
were,  to  come.  But  eternity  does  not  only  belong 
to  the  future,  it  is  already  here.  We  are  all  liv- 
ing in  eternity,  for  we  live  in  God,  and  God  is 
eternal.  The  short  dream  of  our  terrestrial  life, 
this  short  section  of  eternal  being,  we  call  time. 
Time  is,  however,  comprised  in  eternity,  just  as 
our  globe  is  comprised  in  the  infinite  heavens. 
Earth  and  heaven,  time  and  eternity,  are  one. 
We  are  already  living  in  our  Father's  house  here 
on  earth  ;  but  we  have  not  reached  the  higher 
grades  of  perfection,  and  are  not  yet  there  where 
the  glory  of  God  can  appear  to  us  in  full  efful- 
gence. Thither  we  must  be  conducted  by  the 
angel  of  the  better  world,  whom  we  call  death. 

We  live,  but  our  beloved  ones  who  have  died 
also  live  ;  we  stand  weeping  on  this  globe  floating 
in  infinite  space,  but  our  glorified  dear  ones  are, 
like  ourselves,  in  God's  world ;  we  are  here,  — 
but  they  are  perhaps  in  an  infinitely  more  beauti- 
ful world  ;  we  are  limited  by  our  bodies,  —  they 
probably  enjoy  greater  freedom  and  bliss.  Now 
what  is  it  to  die  ?  It  is  generally  said  to  be  a 
passing  into  eternity;  but  here  already  we  are 
dwelling  in  eternity.  It  is  a  transition  from  the 
finite  earthly  relations  into  a  higher,  more  blissful, 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      287 

to  us  incomprehensible,  state  ;  it  is  a  change  into 
a  new  mansion  of  the  Father  of  all ;  it  is  the  ex- 
change from  a  place  in  a  cradle  into  a  place  on 
the  bosom  of  the  Father.  How  differently  does 
not  death  now  appear  to  us !  It  is  not  annihila- 
tion, but  completion  ;  not  cessation,  but  continua- 
tion. The  loved  ones  whose  loss  I  lament  are 
still  in  existence  ;  they  are  living  with  me  at  this 
very  time  ;  they  are,  like  myself,  dwelling  in  the 
great  paternal  mansion  of  God ;  they  still  belong 
to  me  as  I  to  them.  We  are  not  separated.  No 
time  lies  between  us ;  for  I,  like  they,  dwell  in 
eternity,  rest  in  the  arms  of  God.  As  they  are 
ever  in  my  thoughts,  so,  perhaps,  am  I  in  theirs. 
As  I  mourn  for  their  loss,  perhaps  they  rejoice 
in  anticipation  of  our  reunion.  What  to  me  is 
still  dark,  they  see  clearly.  Why  do  I  grieve 
because  I  can  no  longer  enjoy  their  society  ? 
During  their  lifetime  I  was  not  discontented  be- 
cause  I  could  not  always  have  them  around  me. 
If  a  journey  took  them  from  me,  I -was  not  there- 
fore unhappy.  And  why  is  it  different  now  ? 
They  have  gone  on  a  journey.  Whether  they 
are  living  on  earth  in  a  far  distant  city,  or  in  some 
higher  world  in  the  infinite  universe  of  God, 
what  difference  is  there  ?  Are  we  not  still  in  the 
same  house  of  the  Father,  like  loving  brothers 
who  inhabit  separate  rooms  ?  Have  we  therefore 
ceased  to  be  brothers  ? 

Ah,  let  us  not  weep  for  the  dead  ;  their  blessed 


288     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

spirits  can  experience  no  pain.  Perhaps  they, 
being  more  exalted,  more  perfect  than  we,  and 
possessing  a  clearer  knowledge  of  the  fatherly 
love  of  God,  only  feel  a  kind  of  tender  compas- 
sion for  our  ignorance.  Perhaps  they  were  un- 
willing to  die,  but  were  torn  from  our  arms  against 
their  desire.  God  willed  it,  and  the  change  took 
place.  In  their  glorified  state,  they  bless  the 
Fatherly  Hand  that  guided  them  into  the  higher 
world,  and  the  love  which  knew  better  than  they 
did  what  was  conducive  to  their  happiness.  Per- 
haps the  past  seems  to  them  as  a  dream,  the 
recollection  of  which  was  hardly  worth  retaining. 
The  soul,  the  self-conscious  element  in  the  human 
body,  may  possibly,  when  parting  from  the  uncon- 
scious earthly  elements  of  that  body,  retain  a 
remembrance  of  the  past.  We  know  too  little 
of  the  nature  of  the  spirit  to  deny  this,  but  per- 
haps the  recollections  of  its  earthly  existence  are 
its  most  insignificant  possessions.  Here,  on  earth 
even,  the  present  is  of  far  more  importance  to  us 
than  our  recollections  of  the  past.  Much  of  what 
we  have  experienced  seems  to  us  hardly  worthy 
of  a  place  in  the  memory,  and  we  forget  it. 
Many  of  our  experiences,  indeed,  we  would  be 
glad  to  obliterate  from  our  minds.  The  present 
moment  is  always  the  one  most  fraught  with 
enjoyment,  yet  we  are  ever  striving  towards  the 
future.  Can  we  suppose  it  to  be  otherwise  with 
the  blessed  spirits  ?     Perhaps  the  memory  of  their 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      289 

former  imperfect  state  would  be  humiliating  and 
painful  to  them  amid  the  lustre  of  their  more 
perfect  condition.  If  we,  who  are  living  at  this 
moment  upon  the  earth,  had  existed  previously 
somewhere  in  the  great  universe,  but  in  a  very 
inferior  condition,  suppose  in  that  of  an  animal ; 
would  not  the  memory  of  this  our  animal  condi- 
tion be  humiliating  and  repugnant  to  us  after 
havino;  attained  the  status  of  human  beings  ? 
Would  we  regret  having  lost  all  knowledge  of 
our  former  degraded  state  ?  And  may  not  the 
condition  of  the  higher  beings  be,  in  comparison 
to  that  of  man,  what  ours  is  in  comparison  to  that 
of  the  animals  ?  One  remembrance,  however, 
there  is,  which  remains  dear  to  us  mortals  even 
at  the  most  advanced  age,  —  that  is,  the  remem- 
brance of  friends  and  persons  to  whom  we  have 
been  devotedly  attached.  The  old  man  still  recol- 
lects with  delight  the  companion  of  his  youth, 
the  friend  with  whom  he  passed  many  a  happy 
hour.  He  may  forget  everything  else,  but  objects 
of  his  affection  he  does  not  forget. 

Love  is  one  of  the  attributes  which  in  some 
degree  assimilate  mortals  to  the  more  perfect  be- 
ings ;  and  this  attribute  can  never  be  lost,  for  it 
belongs  to  the  nature  of  the  spirit.  God  also 
loves,  but  in  a  far  higher  sense  than  we.  The 
entire  creation  bears  witness  to  this.  It  is  true 
that  the  sexual  instinct  and  habit  seem  to  engen- 
der some  feeling  like  love  in  animals  also ;  but 

13  s 


290      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

in  them  it  is  but  transitory,  —  it  is  a  shadow  that 
deludes  us.  But  God,  who  loves  infinitely  more 
deeply  and  more  purely  than  man,  —  God,  who 
has  diffused  the  sentiment  of  love  throughout 
creation,  from  its  highest  degree  of  perfection 
down  to  its  almost  imperceptible  appearance  in 
the  mutual  attractions  of  the  plants,  —  God  who, 
through  love,  has  bound  his  creatures  to  each 
other  and  to  himself,  —  would  he  destroy  this 
love,  this  divine  power  in  the  glorified  soul,  at 
the  very  moment  that  he  called  it  into  a  more 
perfect  existence  ?  No  ;  that  which  is  Divine  is 
eternal/  Imperfect  man  cannot  be  more  perfect 
than  the  higher  spirits  who  stand  nearer  to  the 
Father  than  we  ;  and  though  we  mortals  may  lose 
the  recollection  of  many  things,  our  love  for  the 
objects  of  our  affection  we  carry  with  us  to  the 
grave.  In  like  manner,  though  a  thousand  mem- 
ories may  be  lost  with  the  mouldering  dust  of  the 
body,  the  memory  of  God,  the  memory  of  the 
creatures  of  God  whom  we  love,  must  accompany 
the  soul  into  the  blessed  regions.  God  did  not 
create  spirits,  and  endow  them  with  a  knowledge 
of  himself,  in  order  to  allow  them  to  forget  him 
again  after  a  brief  space.  He  did  not  unite  souls 
by  the  spiritual  bonds  of  love,  to  separate  them 
again  forever.  That  which  the  most  cruel  human 
being  would  recoil  from,  God,  who  has  stamped 
the  impress  of  his  love  on  every  marvel  of  the 
creation,  cannot  will  to  do.     And  therefore  the 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      291 

bond  that  united  us  in  life,  O  my  beloved !  cannot 
have  been  dissevered  by  the  death  of  the  body. 
I  still  belong  to  you,  though  you  are  living  in 
some  other  mansion  in  our  Heavenly  Father's 
house. 

I  shall  continue  to  love  you  until  my  heart  also 
ceases  to  beat.  And  you,  —  nay,  you  cannot 
have  forgotten  me,  for  God  is  the  God  of  love, 
and  I  must  still  live  in  your  memory,  and  in  your 
holy  state  you  must  yearn  for  me !  You  who, 
dwelling  in  a  higher  world,  see  the  greatness  of 
God  in  all  its  wonderful  sublimity,  you  now  feel 
for  me  a  more  exalted  love  than  I  can  feel  for 
you.  Alas  !  mine  is  still  mingled  with  tears ; 
yours  knows  only  rapturous  delight.  I  lift  my 
eyes  with  sadness  to  the  stars,  seeking  the  home 
in  which  your  spirits  dwell ;  you  look  down  with 
a  happy  smile  upon  this  planet  where  I  sojourn, 
lonely  in  the  dust,  and  in  secret  breathe  forth 
your  names  with  many  a  sigh  ! 

The  mutual  love  of  souls  is  eternal,  like  the 
souls  themselves  ;  eternal,  like  God  and  his  love. 
It  is  true,  all  earthly  ties  are  dissolved  between 
the  living  and  the  departed  spirits,  but  our  spirit- 
ual brotherhood  in  God  continues,  and  God  is  the 
Father  of  all.  In  the  better  world  we  shall  all 
be  equal,  as  the  angels  and  the  higher  powers  and 
forces  in  the  creation  are  equal. 

That  which  belongs  to  the  body,  dies  with  the 
body.     The  spiritual  alone  endures.     The  power, 


292     IXTERPRETATIOXS   OF  ETERNITY. 

the  faculty  of  growing  in  perfection  alone  con- 
tinues. Our  relations  must  be  of  a  different 
nature  in  heaven  to  what  they  were  on  earth, 
for  they  must  be  purified  and  spiritualized ;  but 
how,  we  cannot  imagine.  The  occupations  of  the 
blessed  spirits  in  the  next  world  we  are  equally 
incapable  of  conceiving.  Most  assuredly  they 
are  neither  the  same  as  on  earth,  nor  similar  to 
them  ;  and  everything  that  has  been  said  on  the 
subject  by  presumptuous  men  is  nothing  more 
than  idle  dreams.  We  know  not  how  the  spirit 
works  in  a  disembodied  state,  nor  do  we  know 
how,  when  by  the  almighty  power  of  God  it  is 
clothed  in  more  beautiful  raiment,  it  will  act 
through  this.  For  who  knows  the  power  of  God  ? 
But  this  much  we  do  know,  and  a  thrill  of  hap- 
piness passes  through  the  longing  soul  at  the 
thought ;  the  loved  ones  who  died  here  on  earth 
still  live  in  a  more  exalted  state.  That  which  has 
once  been  present  is  still  present  in  the  universe, 
and  that  winch  has  once  lived,  still  lives.  For 
"  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living."     (Matt.   xxii.   32.) 

What  ecstasy  seizes  me  at  this  thought,  the 
truth  of  which  is  so  clear,  so  simple,  but  which 
only  now  beams  upon  me  in  all  its  fulness ! 
Where  am  I  ?  On  this  little  planet,  the  earth, 
it  is  true  ;  but  with  it  I  float  in  the  infinite  uni- 
verse, and  in  time  eternal !  Where  am  I  ?  With 
thee,  O  Father  !  O  God  !     Even  on  this  earth  I 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     293 

am  with  thee,  and  I  behold  thee,  through  the 
veil  of  thy  wondrous  creation  in  like  manner  as 
my  soul  beholds  itself  through  its  earthly  veil,  the 
body.  What  a  glory  diffuses  itself  over  all  those 
earthly  relations  which  thou  hast  appointed  for 
me !  The  starry  heavens  become  more  sacred 
in  my  eves,  —  I  seem  to  behold  up  yonder  the 
mansions  of  my  beloved  ones  in  the  house  of  our 
Father.  The  spot  on  which  I  dwell  on  this  little 
earth  becomes  more  holy  in  my  eyes,  for  it  is  the 
entrance  to  the  better  world !  My  toiling  and 
plodding,  my  cares  and  my  efforts,  all  become 
sanctified  in  my  eyes  ;  they  are  but  the  exercise 
of  the  faculties  of  the  immortal  power  that  dwells 
within  me,  and  that  are  preparing  it  for  a  higher 
existence.  One  thing  only  is  unholy,  and  that  is 
sin,  —  the  disobedience  of  the  spirit  to  its  own  law, 
its  disobedience  to  thy  will,  O  most  Holy  One  ! 

Away,  all  love,  all  impure  passions,  which 
would  desecrate  me  here  in  the  sanctuary  of 
my  Father ! 

Cheerfully  I  will  look  up  tP  thee,  gladly  I  will 
resign  myself  to  thee,  O  Creator,  abounding  in 
love  !  O  joy !  to  belong  to  thee,  O  wonderful 
eternity  which  Christ  opened  to  me  !  To  belong 
to  you,  O  blessed  spirits  of  my  ever-beloved  ones, 
who  are  beckoning  me  to  follow  you  into  the 
Holy  of  Holies ! 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF   ETERNITY. 

Third    Meditation. 


RETRIBUTION. 

Stop,  sinner,  cast  thy  sins  away  ! 

Though  vengeance,  though  the  Avenger  stay, 

He  comes  to  judge,  he  hath  the  power, 

Shed  for  your  guilt  the  sorrowing  tear ; 

The  day  of  wrath  may  soon  appear, 

Swift  as  a  robber  in  the  night. 

Hark  !  even  now  the  trumpets  call,  — 

The  stars  already  pass  away,  — 
They  sound,  —  they  sound,  —  and  trembling  all 

From  forth  their  graves  must  rise  to-day. 

When  through  storm  He  makes  his  path, 
Call  ye  the  hills  to  shield  from  wrath ; 

"  Cover  us,  hide  us,"  shall  ye  cry. 
God  comes  to  fill  his  judgment-seat, 
The  heavens  shall  bow  beneath  his  feet, 
The  earth  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat, 

The  universe  in  ruins  lie. 
Yet  midst  the  wTeck  of  worlds  undone 

The  spirits  of  the  just  shall  rise  — 
Their  course  fulfilled,  their  victory  won, 

And  crowned  with  glory  —  to  the  skies. 

(Matthew  xxv.  31  -46.) 

T  is  when  people  are  deeply  distressed 
and  almost  inconsolable  at  the  death 
of  some  beloved  object,  that  it  is  most 
usual  to  remind  them  of  religion  and 
Christianity.     At  such  moments,  even  those  who 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      ^ 

have  never  previously  in  words  expressed  any 
interest  in  religion,  are  supposed  to  entertain 
Christian  feelings  and  sentiments.  And  rarely 
does  a  sufferer  revolt  against  the  supposition.  By 
this  very  appeal  to  his  own  inward  religion  and 
its  consolations  he  is  made  religious.  It  is  com- 
forting to  him  to  have  a  faith,  or  to  profess  one. 
In  secret,  most  persons  like  to  think  of  eternity, 
and  of  the  state  of  their  souls  after  death  ;  but 
they  rarely  speak  of  these  subjects.  However, 
when  they  do  touch  upon  them,  it  is  not  without 
warmth  and  true  feeling,  yet  less  with  the  firm 
voice  of  conviction,  than  in  the  questioning  tone 
of  curiosity.  And  those  that  mock  at  the  idea, 
do  so  with  a  certain  reserve,  as  though  not  quite 
sure  that  they  are  right. 

Many  a  man,  though  possessed  of  the  same 
ineradicable  consciousness  of  immortality  as  all 
other  men,  nevertheless  likes,  in  conversation, 
to  affect  scepticism.  Not,  however,  because  he 
doubts  in  earnest ;  but  because,  by  raising  objec- 
tions, he  hopes  to  elicit  new  proofs  in  favor  of 
his  conviction. 

That  uneasiness  which  some  people  feel  at  the 
thought  of  immortality  and  the  future  destiny 
of  the  soul,  and  which  almost  takes  the  form  of 
doubt,  is  owing  to  their  thinking  that  they  must 
be  able  to  give  proofs  of  that  which  it  is  as  use- 
less as  it  is  impossible  to  prove.  It  is  impossible, 
because  most  persons  understand  by  proof,  a  kind 


Stations  of  eternity. 

/ception  and  demonstration  of  futu- 
one  ever  could  pretend  to.     Even 
le  thinking  spirit  can  have  no  other 
Lmortality  than  the  consciousness  that 
^6  •  ind  will  continue  to  exist,  and  the  like 

consciousness  it  possesses  in  this  life.  But  in 
this,  as  in  the  future  life,  this  feeling  or  conscious- 
ness is  matter  of  the  immediate  present ;  the  con- 
viction is  not  derived  from  the  future,  for  that  has 
no  existence  except  in  idea.  When  the  future 
has  been  reached,  it  is  no  longer  future,  but 
present. 

To  demonstrate  that  which  forms  part  of  our 
self-consciousness  is  useless.  I  exist!  Of  what 
avail  is  it  to  pro  ye  it  ?  I  am  conscious  of  it  with- 
out any  proof,  and  for  this  very  reason  it  cannot 
be  verified.  For  only  because  I  am,  is  it  possible 
that  there  can  be  any  such  thing  as  demonstration 
in  the  world,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned.  God  is  ! 
Of  what  avail  to  prove  it  ?  My  consciousness 
tells  me  so,  and  millions  of  proofs,  for  or  against, 
can  as  little  destroy  my  consciousness  of  it,  as 
they  can  destroy  the  nature  of  my  spirit  or  the 
existence  of  the  world.  The  immortality  of  the 
spirit  is  a  fact.  Of  what  avail  to  prove  it  ?  This 
is  not  an  acquired  thought,  not  an  opinion,  the 
opposite  of  which  might  possibly  be  demonstrated. 
It  is  not  a  faith  which  we  are  at  liberty  to  adopt 
or  to  reject,  —  no;  it  is  an  intuition,  proceeding 
from  the  innermost  depths  of  our  spiritual  nature, 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.     297 

—  it  is  a  necessary  part  of  our  consciousness.  I 
acknowledge  that  it  is  possible  that  in  many  hu- 
man beings  this  consciousness  has  never  been 
clearly  developed.  It  may  be  that  there  have 
been  people  who  neither  knew  of  the  existence 
of  God  nor  of  their  own  immortality,  although 
both  formed  part  of  their  consciousness.  But 
there  are  likewise  millions  of  human  beings  who 
do  not  know  that  they  are  in  health,  and  yet 
the  sensation  of  health  dwells  in  them,  and  in  all 
their  members.  A  man  is  not  ill  because,  when 
healthy,  he  reflects  not  on  health.  God  and 
immortality  are  not  blotted  out  because  many 
human  beings  have  not  yet  learnt  to  reflect  on 
their  own  self-consciousness.  Not  until  we  are  sick 
in  body  do  we  feel  the  value  of  health  ;  and  those 
that  are  sick  in  mind  meditate  most  upon  the  pos- 
sibility and  the  nature  of  a  future  existence.  In- 
stead, however,  of  being  content  with  the  simple 
and  indestructible  intuition,  this  unerring  and  im- 
mediate revelation  of  God  to  the  human  spirit, 
they  seek  a  standard  of  measure  among  things 
sensuous,  to  aid  them  in  forming  a  judgment 
of  what  the  spirit  may  be  when  raised  above  all 
sensuous  things.  They  endeavor  to  embrace  the 
supersensuous  with  the  limited  faculty  of  their 
imagination,  and  to  fathom  the  nature  of  the 
elementary  forces  of  the  universe  with  ideas  bor- 
rowed from  their  varying  earthly  phenomena  or 
effects. 

13* 


298     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

Thus  it  is  that  men  learn  to  doubt  that  which 
they  have  lost  sight  of  by  seeking  for  it  in  a  false 
direction.  Because  they  cannot  bale  out  the  ocean 
with  the  hollow  of  their  hand,  the  ocean  becomes 
to  them  a  thing  of  doubtful  existence.  Hence  it 
is  that  many  persons  conceive  God  to  be  a  kind 
of  artificially  combined  action  of  dead  forces,  with- 
out self-consciousness,  without  wisdom,  will,  or 
love ;  and  they  are  thus  placed  hi  the  degrad- 
ing necessity  of  assuming  that  the  human  spirit 
is  nobler  than  God,  because  that  at  least  possesses 
the  attributes  which  they  deny  in  him.  Hence  it 
is  that  many  persons,  though  admitting  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  form  a  conception  of  this 
immortality  that  makes  it  nothing  more  than  a 
kind  of  extinction ;  for  although  they  do  not  deny 
the  eternal  existence  of  the  thinking  power  within 
them,  they  do  not  believe  in  its  personality,  nor 
in  any  connection  between  the  present  and  the 
future.  These  deluded  minds  find  in  all,  even 
the  smallest  things  in  the  universe,  the  most  ad- 
mirable order  and  adaptation  of  means  to  ends ; 
but  in  regard  to  the  highest  and  holiest  things, 
they  think  that  disorder  and  the  absence  of  de- 
sign are  matters  of  course. 

These  views  are  no  doubt  very  convenient  in 
some  respects;  for,  as  in  accordance  with  them, 
there  is  no  connection  between  this  life  and  the 
future,  those  who  hold  them  may  live  as  is  most 
agreeable   to  themselves,  without  a  thought   of 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      299 

anything  farther.  Cause  and  effect  they  per- 
ceive on  all  sides  in  the  universe  ;  but  that  the 
present  noble  or  ignoble  life  of  the  soul  may,  as  a 
cause,  be  followed  by  its  consequences  in  the 
future  state  after  death,  they  refuse  to  believe. 

There  are  moments,  however,  when  these 
views  prove  the  reverse  of  convenient;  for  in- 
stance, when  the  conscience  in  its  natural  might 
speaks  in  louder  tones  than  the  subtle  arguments 
of  the  artificially  misdirected  intellects  of  the  rea- 
soners.  Still  more  inconvenient  do  they  become, 
when  by  the  force  of  divinely  ordained  circum- 
stances beloved  friends  or  relatives  are  taken 
away  from  the  sceptics,  and  nothing  is  left  for 
them,  while  gazing  gloomily  into  the  eternal  fu- 
ture, but  to  send  up  the  cry  of  despair :  "  Has  the 
Creator  of  the  world  implanted  affection  in  the 
heart  of  man  in  order  to  prepare  a  hell  for  it? 
Did  he  unite  souls  in  the  tenderest  of  bonds,  in 
order,  when  dissevering  these  by  death,  to  lacer- 
ate every  fibre  of  the  loving  heart?  "  This  can- 
not be  I  Does  not  all  that  is  good  in  material 
nature  continue  forever?  why,  then,  should  that 
which  is  good  in  spiritual  nature  die  and  become 
extinct  ? 

God  and  immortality  are  irrefragable  truths ! 
The  belief  in  retribution  is  a  necessary  result  of 
this  conviction,  and  it  is  one  of  the  oldest  beliefs 
entertained  by  the  human  race.  It  was  em- 
bodied in  the  heathen  religions  of  antiquity,  as 


300     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

it  is  in  those  of  the  present  day.  All  religions 
teach,  in  accordance  with  the  deep-seated  intui- 
tions of  mankind,  that  there  is  a  heaven  and  a 
hell,  —  an  abode  of  bliss  for  the  good,  a  place  of 
punishment  for  evil-doers. 

Without  retribution,  the  immortality  of  the 
spirit  loses  all  meaning,  all  value  ;  without  immor- 
tality, the  existence  of  the  Deity  loses  all  impor- 
tance in  our  eyes.  Belief  in  the  one  is  founded 
in  belief  in  the  other ;  the  one  cannot  exist  with- 
out the  other,  —  they  are  indeed  identical. 

Jesus  constantly  alluded  to  retribution  as  a  con- 
sequence of  the  justice  of  God.  He  referred  Ins 
hearers  from  this  life  to  its  continuance  after  the 
death  of  the  body,  for  the  solution  of  all  the  mys- 
teries and  apparent  contradictions  met  with  here 
on  earth.  Who  does  not  know  the  beautiful  and 
striking  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus, 
which  he  narrated  to  his  disciples  to  make  clear 
to  them  the  compensation  in  heaven  which  fol- 
lows good  or  evil  done  or  suffered  in  this  world  ? 
(Luke  xvi.  19-31.)  Or  who  does  not  remem- 
ber the  grand  and  terrible  image  in  which  he 
depicted  the  last  judgment ;  the  stern  Judge  of 
the  dead  on  his  throne  of  glory,  —  before  him  the 
gathered  nations,  appearing  as  before  a  human 
tribunal,  —  accusation  and  defence,  and  finally 
judgment  ?     (Matthew  xxv.  31  -  46.) 

In  these  similes  and  parables  the  Divine  Teacher 
revealed  the  future  destiny  of  our  souls,  the  inev- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      301 

itable  consequences  of  our  acts,  our  dispositions, 
and  our  sentiments,  of  our  virtues,  and  our  sins. 
In  each  he  expressed  the  eternal  truth :  Retribu- 
tion awaits  you! 

Even  the  world  that  now  surrounds  us  is  full 
of  indications  of  eternity.  "  We  see  now  as 
through  a  glass,  darkly;  but  then  face  to  face." 
(1  Cor.  xiii.  12.)  And  as  I  see  in  the  dark  glass 
of  nature  the  majesty  of  God,  I  divine  from  the 
creations  which  surround  the  earth  the  order  of 
the  infinite  universe ;  as  I  apprehend  from  the 
constant  presence  and  never-ceasing  activity  of 
the  unconscious  forces  of  nature,  the  indestructi- 
bility and  everlasting  existence  of  the  higher 
powers ;  as  I  behold  in  this  momentary  existence, 
called  earthly  life,  but  a  point  of  eternity,  and 
know  myself  and  all  those  who  have  died  before 
me  to  be  living  in  this  eternity,  so  also  I  perceive 
here  below  indications  of  a  retribution  which 
reigns  throughout  eternity,  as  it  does  on  earth. 
As  surely  as  the  entire  creation  and  our  entire 
life  is  comprised  in  the  eternal  infinite,  and  as 
surely  as  the  law  of  retribution  will  continue  to 
reign  on  earth,  after  I  have  left  it,  as  it  does  now ; 
so  surely  does  it  already  reign  over  the  spirits  who 
dwell  not  on  earth,  so  surely  will  it  prevail  in  re- 
gard to  those  who  die  after  me. 

In  nature,  everything  that  is  contrary  to  law  is 
attended  by  evil  consequences,  whereas  every- 
thing that  is  in  accordance  with  law  is  attended 


302     INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

with  satisfactory  consequences.  Whatever  takes 
place  is  followed  by  its  effects,  which,  assuming 
ever  new  forms,  continue  in  endless  succession, 
each  becoming  in  its  turn  a  cause.  However,  we 
cannot  always  distinguish  the  consequences  of  one 
thing  from  those  of  another,  for  they  cross  and 
intersect  each  other.  But  whatever  takes  place 
to-day  is  a  consequence  of  what  took  place  yes- 
terday, as  this  again  is  the  product  of  previous 
days.  Nothing  can  occur  to-morrow  the  founda- 
tions of  which  have  not  been  laid  to-day  or  some 
previous  day ;  and  what  we  call  accident  is  only 
the  result  of  some  cause  hidden  beyond  our  ken 
in  the  great  crowd  of  events,  —  the  consequence 
of  circumstances  which  we  may  have  overlooked, 
but  which  the  Lord  of  the  universe  had  freighted 
with  their  import.  In  this  ever-flowing  stream 
of  cause  and  effect  the  sceptre  of  the  great  Re- 
warder  and  Avenger  makes  itself  felt. 

If  we  consider  the  most  insignificant  acts  of 
human  beings,  we  shall  find  that  they  are  followed 
by  their  inevitable  consequences  in  like  manner 
as  are  the  acts  of  nature.  There  is  no  difference. 
Imprudence,  good  sense,  levity,  all  lead  to  good 
or  to  evil.  And  can  we  suppose  that  such  should 
be  the  case  in  respect  to  natural  events,  and  to 
every  act  of  man  or  animal,  and  that  the  highest 
perfection  to  which  the  human  spirit  can  attain 
should  alone  form  an  exception  to  this  divine  law  ? 
Should  virtue,  the  perfected  stature  of  the  im- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     303 

mortal  soul,  alone  remain  without  any  conse- 
quences in  regard  to  the  soul  itself?  Is  it  indif- 
ferent whether  man,  made  in  the  Divine  image, 
and  endowed  with  free-will,  grow  in  likeness  to 
God,  or  in  likeness  to  the  brutes  ?  Who  can 
believe  this,  that  knows  the  earnest  lessons  which 
life  teaches  ?  What  man  in  his  senses  can  believe 
it  ?  Who  can  believe  it,  that  seeks  in  Jesus  the 
highest  truth,  and  who  revolts  against  the  thought 
that  perfect  justice  should  not  be  one  of  the  at- 
tributes of  God,  the  all-perfect  Being? 

The  law  of  retribution,  or  of  cause  and  effect, 
prevails.  It  rules  in  regard  to  dead  matter  ;  why 
not  in  respect  to  that  which  is  living?  In  the 
human  body  lives  a  sublime  power  which  we  call 
spirit,  and  which  is  endowed  with  consciousness, 
perception,  and  will.  It  is  the  nature  of  this 
power  to  strive  for  self-development,  that  is,  to 
strive  towards  a  perfection  infinite  as  all  spirit. 
It  bears  furthermore  within  itself  the  eternal  law, 
written  by  the  hand  of  God,  and  purified  from  the 
overlying  dust  of  sensuousness  by  Jesus  Christ, 
our  Saviour  from  sin.  And  according  to  this  law 
is  the  striving  for  perfection  regulated. 

Can  we  suppose  that  the  Creator  implanted 
within  us  for  no  purpose  this  fundamental  instinct 
of  self-development  ?  Or  that  the  law  that  reg- 
ulates this  self-development  is  given  for  no  pur- 
pose ?  Is  it  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  we 
follow  it,  or  whether  we  deviate  from  it,  whether 


304     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

we  grow  in  likeness  to  the  brutes  or  in  likeness  to 
God? 

And  if,  O  man !  this  be  not  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference ;  if  here  also  the  general  law  of  creation, 
the  endless  concatenation  of  cause  and  conse- 
quence obtains  :  canst  thou  believe  that  the  spirit 
is  perfected  on  earth,  and  that  its  perfection  has 
only  reference  to  the  life  on  this  little  planet  ? 
How  is  it  possible  to  believe  in  spiritual  perfection 
on  earth  ?  Countless  numbers  have  died  early 
from  unknown  causes,  others  lose,  as  they  grow 
old,  the  use  of  their  worn-out  senses,  and  hardly 
retain  any  power  over  the  body,  the  tool  of  the 
soul.  Does  not  tins  interruption  of  the  onward 
course  towards  that  perfection,  which  our  inward 
instincts  and  all  the  laws  of  nature  impel  us  to 
strive  for,  indicate  that  the  work  is  to  be  continued 
in  a  future  existence  ? 

BiH;  suppose  that  the  goal  of  perfection  could 
in  truth  be  reached  here  on  earth  ;  would  it  be 
of  any  avail  hi  regard  to  this  life  ?  Nay,  there 
are  numbers  of  human  beings  that  get  very  well 
through  this  life  without  virtue,  by  the  aid  of 
cunning  and  cleverness  alone.  Look  at  the  beasts 
of  the  fields,  they  know  naught  of  the  higher 
aspirations  of  the  spirit,  and  yet  they  live  con- 
tentedly according  to  their  nature.  Ah,  it  is  but 
too  true,  the  mere  earthly  life  can  be  carried  on 
without  any  strength  of  virtue,  but  not  so  the 
true  existence  of  the  soul.     Therefore  virtue  does 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     305 

not  exist  for  the  sake  of  this  world  alone,  —  it  is 
ever  pointing  to  eternity. 

Indeed,  it  not  unfrequently  occurs,  that  virtue 
and  mere  worldly  or  animal  happiness  are  diamet- 
rically opposed  to  each  other,  —  that  virtue,  which 
transports  the  spirit  with  joy,  causes  suffering  to 
the  body.  Do  you  think  the  ennobled  spirit  will 
not  receive  compensation  in  the  course  of  its 
eternal  existence  ?  It  may  happen,  and  it  has 
happened,  that  human  beings  have  by  means  of 
nefarious  acts,  which  they  could  not  think  of 
without  blushing,  and  which  in  their  inmost 
hearts  they  abhorred,  secured  to  themselves  the 
most  brilliant  earthly  advantages,  such  as  honors, 
riches,  rank,  and  power.  Why,  then,  did  they 
blush,  and  why  did  they  in  secret  shudder  at  their 
own  degradation  ?  It  may  happen,  and  it  has 
happened,  that  noble  men  have  felt  it  their  duty 
to  shed  then  blood  and  to  spend  their  fortunes  hi 
the  cause  of  truth,  or  to  sacrifice  life  itself  for  the 
good  of  their  loved  ones,  or  for  the  salvation  of 
their  country  or  their  people  ?  Why  have  they 
made  these  sacrifices  ?  Why  were  they  unwilling 
to  live  a  life  they  deemed  unworthy  ?  Why  is 
there  something  far  more  exquisite  than  the  mere 
breath  of  life  ?  Dost  thou  think  that  these  sub- 
lime characters,  with  their  hearts  so  full  of  excel- 
lence, have  died  in  vain  ?  O,  if  thou  wert  right 
in  supposing  this,  then  selfishness  would  be  a  vir- 
tue, madness  reason,  and  the  highest  truth  a  lying 


306     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

contradiction.  No ;  there  is  a  God !  And  na- 
ture and  eternity,  in  which  we  have  our  being, 
are  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  in  the  realm  of 
the  All-Just,  the  law  of  retribution  rules.  The 
human  spirit,  which  by  its  own  will,  and  by  rising 
above  its  animal  nature,  —  above  ambition,  sen- 
suality, envy,  gluttony,  the  love  of  revenge,  and 
other  vicious  tendencies,  —  attains  to  self-depend- 
ence, freedom,  greatness,  will  be  after  death  a 
more  perfect  and  mature  power,  a  more  divine  crea- 
ture; and  will  have  made  many  steps  forward  in 
the  path  that  leads  to  the  highest  goal  which  the 
Eternal  Being  has  marked  out  in  the  infinite  dis- 
tances of  existence.  This  spirit  will  have  attained 
to  a  higher  perfection  than  millions  of  other  be- 
ings, and  this  is  its  heaven  ! 

And  again,  if  a  human  creature,  endowed  with 
will,  perceptions,  and  peculiar  spiritual  laws,  nev- 
ertheless makes  himself  the  slave  of  sensuality ; 
is  cunning,  irate,  ambitious,  gluttonous,  covetous, 
voluptuous,  or,  in  other  words,  lowers  himself  to 
the  level  of  an  animal  possessed  of  the  mere  germs 
of  humanity,  —  this  spiritual  being  who  has  un- 
resistingly allowed  the  self-conscious  power  within 
him  to  be  overcome  by  the  blind  forces  of  nature, 
will,  after  the  death  of  the  body,  be  an  immature, 
impaired,  decrepit  power.  It  has  prepared  for  itself 
the  low  position  it  will  hold  in  the  scale  of  beings, 
and  in  the  rank  of  only  half-conscious,  animal 
souls.     Millions  of  glorified  spirits  in  the  enjoy- 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.     307 

merit  of  inerrable  bliss  hover  above  it.     Its  state 
is  near  to  annihilation,  and  this  is  its  hell! 

Boast  not  of  thy  triumph  over  innocence,  un- 
principled seducer ;  the  brutes  also  are  voluptu- 
ous. Boast  not  of  thy  hoarded,  useless  treasures, 
covetous  miser,  insensible  to  the  wants  and  tears 
of  thousands  of  sufferers  ;  the  dog  also  watches 
greedily  over  its  heap  of  bones.  Boast  not  of  thy 
cleverness  and  cunning,  selfish  villain  ;  of  how 
thou  hast  managed  to  conceal  thy  malignant  trick- 
eries, and  to  thrust  out  of  thy  path  those  who 
obstructed  it ;  of  how  thou  art  able  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  thy  frauds  in  security  and  peace  ;  the 
thievish  fox  also  excels  in  cunning.  Unhappy 
men,  ye  must  seek  your  equals  among  the  ani- 
mals, —  among  the  glorified  spirits  you  will  not 
find  them.  Ye  know  not  nobility  of  soul ;  can  ye 
expect  that  there  be  for  you  a  heaven  of  higher 
perfection  ?  Ye  have  not  sought  for  virtue  ; 
would  ye  ask  for  its  reward  ?  Ye  do  not  admit 
that  Jesus  died  for  you  ;  would  ye  lay  claim  to  a 
share  in  the  redemption  wrought  by  him  ?  Ye 
have  not  acknowledged  the  Most  Holy,  and  he 
will  not  acknowledge  you.  "  Verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  unto  one  of  these 
little  ones,  ye  did  it  not  unto  me."  (Matt.  xxv. 
45.) 

As  the  present  day  lays  the  foundation  of  the 
history  of  the  morrow,  so  does  the  life  of  the  spirit 
on  earth  lay  the  foundation  of  its  history  in  eternity. 


308     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

Improvement  and  happiness  are  the  objects  of  the 
better  spirits  here  on  earth  ;  they  are  their  destiny 
in  the  next  world.  It  is  vain  curiosity  and  hope- 
less speculation  to  endeavor  to  know  how  and 
where  this  destiny  will  be  fulfilled.  Sensuous 
man  can  only  comprehend  the  things  of  this 
earth  ;  to  grasp  the  things  of  other  worlds  his 
senses  do  not  suffice.  Or,  is  there  any  one  who 
has  measured  the  abounding  wealth  of  God  ?  It 
would  be  equally  idle  to  speculate  upon  the  local 
habitation  and  the  mode  of  punishment  of  those 
spirits  who  have  rendered  themselves  unworthy 
of  a  higher  destiny  and  a  better  world.  Jesus 
speaks  of  these  matters,  it  is  true,  but  only  in 
parables,  representing  them  under  the  semblance 
of  human  things.  And  when  he  compares  the 
deplorable  state  of  the  sinner's  soul  with  the 
agony  caused  to  the  human  body  by  fire, 
the  all-consuming  element,  he  avails  himself, 
with  terrible  purpose,  of  an  image  much  in  use 
at  that  day  among  the  Jews. 

Nature,  reason,  and  revelation  thus  agree  in 
showing  that  the  death  of  the  body  can  make  no 
difference  in  the  life  of  the  soul ;  that  between 
the  minute  in  which  the  last  breath  is  drawn  on 
the  bed  of  sickness  or  on  the  field  of  battle, 
and  the  minute  in  which,  in  accordance  with  the 
eternal  laws  of  the  Creator,  we  enter,  as  eman- 
cipated, free,  self-dependent  spirits,  into  a  new 
world,  there  must  necessarily  be  a  moral  connec- 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.     809 

tion,  such  as  that  between  cause  and  effect  in  the 
material  world. 

It  is  thus  the  soul's  active  power  of  virtue  that 
raises  it  up  to  a  higher  destination  ;  and  it  is  not 
the  loving  Deity  that  condemns  us,  but  our  own 
imperfection  and  sinfulness.  The  justice  of  God 
is  tempered  by  love  and  mercy,  and  therefore  the 
self-condemned  may  perhaps,  after  having  been 
purified  in  the  furnace  of  new  and  bitter  trials, 
again  be  allowed  to  approach  the  all-good  One. 
But  the  more  perfect  spirits  will  ever  be  in 
advance  of  them,  for  the  consequences  of  the 
neglect  of   the  soul  on  earth   endure   eternally. 

Retribution  is  the  law  of  thy  kingdom,  O  Lord 
of  the  universe  !  Father  and  judge  of  our  spirits  ! 
I  also  shall  receive  my  reward  and  my  punish- 
ment. The  harvest  I  am  to  reap  in  eternity 
is  sown  here  upon  earth !  I  shall  die,  —  but 
not  cease  to  exist.  Why  do  I  turn  pale  at  the 
thought  ?  I  shall  die,  — in  a  few  years  I  shall  be 
spoken  of  as  one  that  has  passed  away ;  a  few 
years  more,  and  I  shall  have  been  forgotten  on 
earth,  as  millions  have  been  forgotten  before  me. 
But  thou,  O  Father  of  spirits !  thou  hast  not 
forgotten  these  millions.  They  still  belong  to 
thy  creation ;  they  still  live  ;  they  are  thy  chil- 
dren ;  thou  guidest  them  to  perfection  through 
paths  unknown  to  us,  in  like  manner  as  on  earth 
thou  gavest  them  pain  and  pleasure  to  serve  as 
their  monitors. 


310      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

I  exist,  and  shall  exist,  while  others  are  passing 
heedlessly  over  my  grave.  But  thou  wilt  not 
forget  me.  I  am  thy  child,  and  shall  be  so  even 
when  I  shall  be  freed  from  the  earthly  coil  that 
now  encompasses  me.  Thy  child,  perhaps  thy 
unhappy  child,  lost  through  my  own  sinfulness  ! 
Sold  for  earthly  lust  to  the  vengeance  of  sin  ! 
Removed  far  from  thee,  and  from  the  bliss  of  the 
more  perfect  spirits,  by  my  neglect  of  my  own 
soul.  Woe  unto  me,  should  I  have  debarred 
myself  from  saying  when  I  die,  that  I  am  going 
in  to  the  Father  !  should  my  imperfection  have 
raised  an  eternal  barrier  between  me  and  my 
glorified  beloved  ones  in  the  better  world. 

I  tremble  at  the  thought,  that  when  all  earthly 
joys  fade  in  the  hour  of  death,  no  hopes  from  the 
gardens  of  the  heavenly  paradise  may  spring  up 
to  cheer  my  spirit !  O  Eternal  Father,  I  also  am 
thy  child !  Banish  me  not  from  thy  presence  ! 
Love  me,  that  I  may  be  blessed !  Ah  !  thou  de- 
sirest  that  I  should  be  blessed,  therefore  thou  hast 
sent  me  so  many  warnings  in  life  ;  therefore,  also, 
thou  didst  send  thy  Son,  that  I  might  lay  hold  of 
the  salvation  he  offered  me.  Why  have  I  so  long 
neglected  doing  so  ?  Is  it  not  I  alone  that  am  to 
blame  ?  Alas !  have  I  not  too  often  been  the 
willing  slave  of  my  earthly  lusts,  of  the  passions 
which  I  have  in  common  with  the  brutes  ?  Ah  ! 
how  little  have  I  hitherto  had  in  common  with 
Jesus !  How  can  I,  after  a  misspent  life  here, 
hope  for  communion  with  him  hereafter  ? 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      3H 


O  Father,  have  mercy !  Nay,  thou  never  re- 
fusest  mercy ;  but  do  I  ask  for  it  with  a  contrite 
heart  ?  How  many  hours  will  my  earthly  career 
still  last  ?  Through  Jesus  I  will  devote  them  to 
thee,  by  endeavoring  from  this  moment  forward 
to  purify  and  perfect  my  own  soul.     Amen. 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

Fourth  Meditation. 

REUNION. 

He  gave  it,  he  hath  taken  it  away, 

He  who  in  grieving  us  no  joy  can  take. 
Patient  of  evil,  he  the  righteous'  stay 

And  comfort,  unto  him  my  prayer  I  make,  — 
Is  it  not  his,  all,  everything  I  have  1 

Who,  then,  can  have  such  right  to  all  as  he, 
Who  says,  "  Enclose  thy  prey,"  unto  the  grave  ; 

"  Bring  forth,"  to  mothers  in  their  agony  1 
Reverence  is  mute,  but  love  in  faith  is  blest. 
God  loves  us,  though  he  rob  us  of  our  best. 

How  can  he  rob  us  ?     He  may  take  again 

What  is  his  own  ;  but  is  this  robbery  % 
My  bitter  flowing  tears  will  I  restrain ; 

He  is  almighty,  —  naught  but  dust  am  I ; 
Yet  me  he  raises  from  my  anguish  sore 

To  his  own  world  of  deep,  unfading  bliss, 
Where  loving  hearts  shall  meet  again  once  more, 

Who  have  been  torn  apart  by  death  in  this. 
What  God,  the  Faithful  One,  who  changeth  never, 
Has  bound  together,  he  will  ne'er  dissever. 

(Luke  xxiii.  43.) 

LEED  freely,  and  bleed   ever   afresh, 
deep  wounds  of  my  heart !     Welcome 
again   and   again,  nameless    and  holy 
sorrow   which  stirs  my  spirit  at    the 
thought  of  the  loved  one  who  has  left  me.     To 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      313 

the  living  I  can  speak  words  of  affection,  I  can 
devote  acts  of  friendship,  I  can  express  my  love 
in  tender  caresses ;  hut  what  can  I  give  to  the 
heloved  dead,  whose  ashes  repose  in  the  grave  ? 
To  him  I  can  offer  no  other  tribute  than  the  tears 
which  I  shed  in  remembering  him,  —  no  signs 
of  affection  but  my  sighs.  In  my  solitary  walks, 
where  his  cherished  image  ever  accompanies  me, 
my  hands  are  clasped  in  constantly  renewed 
agony,  my  streaming  eyes  are  turned  silently  to- 
wards heaven,  and  from  my  lips  escapes  the  sigh : 
"O  my  God!  my  God!  why  was  I  doomed  to  lose 
the  loved  one  of  my  soul,  the  light  of  my  days  ? 
Alas !  why  was  he  so  early  torn  away  from  my 
heart  ?  He  was  happy  ;  why  was  he  not  left  to 
enjoy  still  further  happiness  ?  He  was  devoted 
to  me  with  tender  fidelity ;  why  was  he  not  al- 
lowed to  reap  the  reward  thereof?  Fain  would 
he  have  clung  to  life,  —  fain  would  he  have  lin- 
gered in  pain  and  illness,  could  he  but  have  re- 
mained among  us.  In  vain  !  The  film  of  death 
spread  over  his  eyes,  and  the  soul,  so  full  of  love, 
departed  from  us.  Ah !  how  willingly  would  I 
have  given  my  life  to  reknit  again  the  bonds 
which  bound  him  to  life.  But  my  prayers  were 
unheard  !  There  was  no  mercy  for  me  !  It  was 
accomplished.  The  heart  ceased  to  beat.  In 
obedience  to  the  call  of  the  Almighty,  the  spirit 
of  a  new  angel  left  us,  —  hastened  along  new 
paths  into  the  regions  of  eternal  glory." 
U 


314     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

They  try  to  comfort  me,  saying :  "  Why  dost 
thou  weep,  thy  beloved  is  happy  ?  Wouldst  thou, 
were  it  in  thy  power,  deprive  him  of  the  bliss 
which  the  Eternal  Father  has  vouchsafed  to  him  ? 
He  has  won  the  victory ;  thy  grief  is  of  no  avail. 
Call  not  upon  thy  glorified  loved  one,  he  is  hap- 
py !  "  —  What  feeble  consolation  !  He  is  happy, 
the  angel  who  has  fled  from  us !  I  know  he  is 
happy,  for  I  believe  in  God.  Did  I  not  know 
this,  I  should  despair;  I  should  curse  my  exist- 
ence in  a  world  so  unmerciful,  that  it  has  only 
tears  for  virtue,  only  cruel  separation  for  faithful, 
loving  souls ;  while  for  heartless  vice  it  has  pleas- 
ure, and  for  treacherous  infidelity,  satisfaction. 
He  is  happy,  I  know  it,  for  I  know  God  and  his 
love.  But  I,  —  am  I  happy  ?  For  that  which 
the  beloved  departed  spirit  has  lost  he  will  find 
boundless  compensation  in  a  higher  and  better 
life.  But  what  can  make  amends  to  me,  in  this 
world,  for  my  heart-rending  loss  ?  I  have  still 
friends,  it  is  true ;  but  he  is  not  among  them. 
I  may  win  new  friends,  but  I  shall  never  again 
press  him  to  my  lacerated  heart.  In  vain  I  call 
his  name ;  in  vain  I  pray ;  in  vain  I  stretch  out 
my  arms  towards  him.  Others  whom  God  has 
left  me  are  dear  to  my  heart;  but  they  cannot 
take  the  place  of  him  I  have  lost.  For  in  the 
love  of  souls,  one  cannot  take  the  place  of  another. 

Therefore  will  I  not  only  be  faithful  to  my  love 
through  life,  but  also  to  my  sorrow.     It  is  the 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      315 

sweetest  incense  which  widowed  faith  can  offer 
on  the  altar  of  the  dead.  It  will  die  with  me, 
when  in  the  last  hour,  the  yearning  aspirations 
of  my  heart  shall  at  length  be  dissolved  in  the 
ecstasy  of  approaching  reunion. 

Why  force  such  consolation  upon  me  ?  It  will 
not  give  me  back  my  lost  one.  My  grief  may, 
perhaps,  in  time  become  less  poignant,  but  my 
love  and  my  longing  will  remain  the  same, 
even  though  I  should  hide  them  from  the  world. 
Why,  then,  try  to  console  me  ? 

Hast  thou  beheld  thy  father  or  thy  mother  in 
the  narrow  coffin,  —  hast  thou  seen  the  venerable 
head  resting  with  closed  eyes  in  the  eternal  sleep 
of  death  ?  Ah  !  if  so,  with  what  tenderness  didst 
thou  not  gaze  for  the  last  time  upon  the  features 
of  the  countenance  which  had  so  often  beamed 
upon  thee  with  affection  ;  with  what  reverence 
didst  thou  not  touch  the  stiffened  hand,  which 
guided  thee  so  tenderly  in  youth,  —  which  in 
infancy  so  willingly  lifted  thee  over  every  thorn 
in  thy  path,  —  which  had  so  often  been  raised  to 
heaven  in  supplication  for  thee  !  Hast  thou  be- 
held the  corpse  of  thy  child  in  its  coffin  ?  Thy 
sweet  child  whom  thou  didst  tend  and  watch 
through  many  anxious  days  and  sorrowful  nights ! 
But  thy  care  proved  vain.  Thy  hopes  lay  strewn 
like  withered  leaves  over  the  lovely  corpse.  The 
joys  which  the  future  had  promised  died  with  thy 
darling.     In  his  face,  still  lovely  in  death,  thou 


316     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

didst  read  the  tenderness  with  which  his  heart 
beat  for  thee  before  its  throbbings  were  stilled. 
With  stifled  voice  thou  didst  whisper  the  last,  the 
eternal  good-night !  You  were  separated.  The 
heart  of  father  or  of  mother  had  to  tear  itself 
from  the  child  of  its  affections,  and  to  resign 
itself  to  solitude. 

Hast  thou  seen  thy  husband  or  thy  wife  stretched 
with  pallid  cheek  on  the  funeral  bier  ?  Thy  heaven 
on  earth,  thy  better  half,  laid  low  in  death  ?  Then 
hast  thou  felt  as  though  thou  wert  no  longer  thy- 
self, as  though  the  nobler  part  of  thyself  had  been 
taken  away.  Widow,  or  widower,  didst  thou 
not  sob  forth :  "  Why,  O  why  have  I  been  left 
behind  ?  Why  cannot  I  follow  thee  into  thy 
heaven  ?  " 

*  Hast  thou  seen  brother,  or  sister,  or  friend,  or 
beloved  companion  of  thy  childhood,  laid  low  in 
death?  Hast  thou  seen  the  cherished  remains 
borne  away  from  thy  home,  and  with  them  all 
the  joys  that  had  sprung  from  the  happy  rela- 
tionship ?  Thou  stoodst  there  like  a  tree  struck 
by  lightning,  that  has  lost  its  leafy  crown,  and  has 
been  rent  asunder  in  the  prime  of  its  strength. 

O,  how  bitter  is  the  pain  of  parting  in  death  ! 
Is  then  affection  a  crime,  that  it  must  be  so  cruelly 
expiated  ?  Why  did  the  Creator  give  us  a  heart 
receptive  of  love,  and  endow  us  with  a  wealth  of 
tender  feelings,  if  this  heart  and  these  feelings 
are  not  to  be  taken  into   account  in  this  life  ? 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      317 

Why  was  the  treasured  object  bestowed  upon  me, 
and  why  was  I   allowed  to  bind  myself  to   him 
by  such  tender  bonds,  if  these  were  to  be  dissev- 
ered, and  the  pain  thus  rendered  tenfold  greater  ? 
What  had  my  beloved  lost  one  been  guilty  of, 
that  he  should  be  doomed  to  suffer  so  intensely  in 
his  last  moments  ?     Why  should  this  angel,  when 
drawing  near  to  the  hour  of  his  glorification,  be 
tortured  with  the  pangs  of  disease  ?     Of  what 
good  was  it  to  me  to  witness  his  patient  suffering  ? 
These  are  fearful,  cruel  enigmas,  which  I  cannot 
solve  !     But  they  render  my  grief  more  intense  ; 
they  increase  my  sense  of  misery  to  an  unutter- 
able degree.     I  see  how  wretched  is  the  lot  of 
man,  I  see  that  the  mercy  of  the  Eternal  Father 
is  no  more.     O  my  God,  thy  mercy  ?     Ah  !  for- 
give, forgive  the  injustice  which  the  despair  of 
the   moment   inspired !      No,    thy   mercy   never 
ceases  !     Even  on  the  bed  of  death  thou  wert 
the  Father  of  the  sufferer.     Thou  diclst  not  inflict 
greater  pain  than  he  could  bear,  and  his  severest 
agonies  thou  didst  mercifully  assuage  by  uncon- 
sciousness.    He  was   perhaps   less   aware   of  his 
physical  state  than  I  supposed.     My  tender  anx- 
iety, my  imagination  filled  with  terrors,  impressed 
me  with  exaggerated  notions  of  the  pangs  which 
he  endured.     Perhaps  I  suffered  even  more  than 
he,  for  what  is  the  anguish  of  the  body  compared 
with  that  of  the  soul  ?     Great  is  my  distress,  O 
Father  !     But  greater  still  my  faith  in  thy  wise 


318     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

guidance  and  in  thy  unbounded  love.  Thou.  O 
L  rd,  didst  give  me  my  .soul'.-  beloved;  and  thou, 
O  Lord,  hast  taken  him  away. 

But  why  hast  thou  taken  him  away?  "Wherein 
had  I  offended  ?  Waa  my  love  for  him  too  great  ? 
Was  I  unworthy  of  my  tranquil  happiness  ?  Can 
we  love  too  much  ?  Yes,  Father.  I  acknowledge 
it  :  we  love  too  much  when  ice  cling  so  passionately 
to  some  object  in  this  world,  as  though  it  were  to  be- 
long to  us  forever.  Did  I  not  know  that  here  on 
earth  human  beings  meet  but  for  a  little  while  ? 
Did  I  not  know  that  either  he,  the  object  of  my 
affection,  must  leave  this  world  before  me,  or  I 
before  him  ?  The  first  time  we  grasp  a  new 
friend's  hand,  we  ought  to  think  of  the  parting 
pressure  we  may  have  to  give  to  that  same  hand, 
and  to  remember  that  the  hour  of  separation  is 
ever  nearer  than  we  anticipate  ;  this  will  prevent 
our  friendship  from  becoming  too  ardent.  When 
father  and  mother  impress  the  first  rapturous  kiss 
on  the  soft  cheek  of  the  new-born  babe,  let  them 
remember  that   this    sweet   plant   of   (  in- 

trusted to  their  care  for  a  few  hours,  a  few  wee 
or  a  few  years,  only.  Then  they  will  each  day 
be  prepared  to  give  back  the  precious  nursling 
n  the  Lord  demands  it.  Woe  to  them  if  they 
deceive  themselves  if  their  passionate  fondness 
ise  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  separation, 
and  they  mor-k  at  the  warnings  of  reason  !  Then 
the  loss  becomes  a  punishment,  and.  the  anguish  so 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      319 

much  the  more  poignant,  because  it  is  a  consequence 
of  their  own  want  of  reflection. 

Yes,  Heavenly  Father,  I  acknowledge  how 
earnestly  thou  dost  ever  admonish  our  souls  not 
to  give  themselves  up  with  too  great  devotion 
even  to  the  noblest  pleasures  here  below.  We 
are  not  to  abide  here.  Our  life  on  earth  is  to  be 
but  the  beginning  of  our  life  in  heaven.  Here 
we  are  but  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  holy  and 
beautiful  things,  which  are  to  be  completed  in  the 
true  home  of  our  spirits.  We  must  ever  keep 
in  mind  that  each  good  we  may  enjoy  on  earth 
is  bnt  a  loan,  not  a  possession  ;  that  nothing  is  our 
own  but  our  virtue  ;  and  that  everything  is  in  thy 
power,  O  Father,  not  in  ours.  When  we  forget 
this,  we  begin  also  to  forget  our  own  destination  ; 
and  we  may  then  be  thankful  for  some  serious 
warning,  that  rouses  us  out  of  our  dreams  and 
delusions,  and,  as  it  were,  calls  out  to  us  :  "  Here 
vou  cannot  abide  ;  here  all  is  fleeting;  \  think  of 
elevating  your  minds  by  truth,  of  ennobling  your 
souls  by  fulfilling  the  word  of  Jesus.  The  most 
virtuous  is  the  most  happy,  only  to  the  holy  be- 
longs the  holiest,  here  and  hereafter." 

I  will  therefore  try  to  be  composed.  I  will  listen 
to  the  voice  of  religion,  to  the  voice  of  truth,  — 
indeed,  were  I  to  refuse  to  listen  to  it,  would 
I  not  have  to  expiate  my  immoderate  passion 
bv  severer  sufferino; ?  If  my  misfortune  fail  to 
make  me  wiser,  should  I  not  deserve  to  be  awak- 


320     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

ened  to  a  sense  of  my  duty  by  still  greater  mis- 
fortunes ?  I  will  no  longer  give  myself  up  to  the 
unavailing  melancholy  that  renders  me  incapable 
of  fulfilling  my  duties  towards  my  God  and  to- 
wards my  fellow-men.  I  will  banish  from  my 
mind  all  gloomy  images,  and  will  cease  to  torment 
myself  with  questionings  as  to  whether  I  had 
clone  enough  for  the  dear  departed  one,  or  wheth- 
er I  had  not  neglected  some  kindness  that  might 
have  been  shown  him  either  during;  health  or  ill- 
ness.  If  this  has  been  the  case,  it  was  the  will 
of  Providence  that  it  should  be  so.  How  can 
man  with  his  limited  insight  and  power  hope  to 
escape  errors  and  shortcomings  ? 

God  willed  the  death  of  him  for  whom  I  have 
wept  so  much ;  he  was  ripe  for  the  better  world. 
Before  I  drew  the  breath  of  life,  before  my  lost 
one  was  born,  God  had  fixed  his  last  hour.  The 
germ  of  his  destiny  began  to  unfold  from  the  first 
moment  he  beheld  the  light  of  the  world,  and  the 
appointed  events  of  Ins  life  commenced  their  in- 
fluence. He  was  still  smiling  cheerfully  in  the 
circle  of  his  relatives,  when  he  began  to  die,  and 
the  angel  of  death  was  hovering  over  him.  His 
death,  and  the  very  hour  at  which  it  took  place, 
were  the  consequence  of  a  moment  long  past  and 
unknown  to  him.  All  the  skill  of  the  physician, 
all  my  tending,  could  not  have  added  one  span  to 
Ins  life.  The  bright  light  was  to  be  extinguished. 
In  all  probability  the  treatment  by  the  physician, 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      321 

my  care,  and  my  prayers  were  also  included  in 
the  pre-ordained  concatenation  of  events.  God's 
providence  had  taken  these  also  into  account,  and 
permitted  part  of  their  activity  to  take  effect,  but 
only  the  useful  part.  And  when  the  life  of  the 
dear  one  was  ripe  for  the  sickle,  all  human  skill 
and  care  proved  unavailing.  But  God's  will  was 
carried  out.  And  shall  I  dare  to  complain  ?  Am 
I  wiser  than  Divine  Providence  ?  Kinder  than 
the  Creator  ?  I  loved  the  dear  one  who  has  gone 
to  rest;  but  God  also  loved  him.  What  God 
doeth  is  well  done.  He  separated  a  beloved  soul 
from  me.     My  tears  flow. 

God  separated !  Nay,  God  of  Love,  thou  dost 
not  separate  souls  thou  hast  once  united !  Who 
says  that  my  glorified  friend  is  lost  to  me  ?  That 
which  is  with  God  cannot  be  lost.  And  am  I  not 
in  God's  hand,  and  my  beloved  likewise  ?  Am  I 
not  in  my  Father's  house,  and  my  beloved  also  ? 
I  live,  but  thou  also,  O  cherished  soul,  art  living ! 
I  think  of  thee  with  a  sad,  yearning  heart ;  canst 
thou  have  ceased  to  think  of  me  ?  Can  love  be 
extinguished,  when  God  is  love  ? 

Thou  rejoicest  to-day  in  thy  more  perfect  state, 
in  the  better  world !  While  my  tears  are  flowing 
thou  mayest  be  exulting  in  new-born  bliss.  While 
I  stammer  forth  thy  earthly  name  with  trembling 
lips,  thou  mayest  be  awaiting  my  approaching 
arrival  with  joyful  anticipation.  O  glorified  spirit, 
God's  love  has  perhaps  vouchsafed  to  thee  a  hap- 

14*  u 


322     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

piness  which  in  my  mortal  state  I  am  incapable  of 
conceiving !  Thou  seest  me  in  my  lonely  sorrow, 
thou  lovest  me,  hoverest  around  me,  guidest  me  ! 
Perhaps  thou  art  one  of  the  guardian  angels  who 
carry  out  the  Lord's  behests  in  regard  to  me. 

Nay,  we  are  not  separated.  The  divine  uni- 
verse is  but  one.  This  earth  forms  part  of  the 
divine  edifice  ;  the  present  hour  forms  part  of 
eternity.  I  enjoy  it  here  on  earth,  and  thou  en- 
joyest  it  in  happier  regions.  We  still  belong  to 
each  other,  although  thou  hast  gone  in  earlier  to 
the  Father,  by  whom  I,  also,  shall  one  day  be 
called.  And  of  what  great  importance  is  it 
whether  we  be  summoned  to  enter  the  Holy 
of  Holies  an  hour  earlier  or  an  hour  later  ?  I 
am  not  yet  called  because  I  have  still  much  of  my 
Father's  work  to  do  on  earth.  His  holy  will  be 
done.  I  know  that  for  me,  also,  unutterable  fe- 
licity is  in  store,  when  I  shall  have  completed  my 
course.  Whether  it  be  in  this  year  or  in  another, 
what  matters  it  ?  What  is  the  longest  duration 
of  man's  career  ?  A  fleeting  morning  dream. 
When  it  is  passed,  and  the  hour  strikes,  O  then 
to  meet  again,  to  stand  face  to  face  again  with 
thee,  shall  be  the  reward  of  my  faithful,  glorified 
spirit.  To  be  reunited  to  thee !  To  see  thee 
again  !  O  thought  full  of  heavenly  rapture  !  To 
meet  thee  again,  absent  angel,  whose  loss  I  am 
ever  lamenting  !  What  a  moment  will  that  be  in 
the  paradise   of  the  better  world !      As  human 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      323 

beings,  we  should  cling  to  each  other  with  tears 
of  unspeakable  joy ;  as  glorified  spirits,  we  shall 
bow  down  in  grateful  adoration  of  God,  and  be 
dissolved  in  bliss. 

Reunion  !  But  can  it  be  possible  ?  On  what 
do  I  ground  the  sweet  hope  ?  Whence  does  it 
come  to  me  ? 

O  thou,  whose  wisdom  has  so  often  lifted  my 
soul  to  God,  whose  word  has  never  deceived  me, 
whose  promises  have  ever  been  wonderfully  ful- 
filled, —  Jesus  Christ,  eternal  Son  of  the  living 
Father,  sent  to  comfort  suffering  humanity,  thou 
hast  inspired  me  with  this  hope  and  trust.  When 
on  the  cross,  thou  spakest  to  thy  fellow-sufferer, 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shalt  thou  be 
with  me  in  paradise,"  (Luke  xxiii.  43,)  thou 
didst  speak  words  of  rapturous  hope  to  all  sor- 
rowing souls. 

He,  for  whom  I  am  weeping  here  in  the  dust, 
has  not  been  taken  from  me  forever.  We  shall 
be  reunited  ;  God's  voice  has  promised  it.  Even 
in  material  nature  I  perceive  a  wonderful  striving 
of  dissevered  forces  towards  reunion.  Those 
elements  which  belong  together  will,  in  spite  of 
all  man's  efforts  to  separate  them,  always  find  the 
means  of  reuniting.  I  see  throughout  creation 
that  among  the  living  organisms  as  well  as  in 
inanimate  matter,  certain  beings  and  certain 
things  are  in  closer  affinity  to  each  other  than 
others,  and  are  ever  mutually  attracting  one  an- 


324     INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

other,  and  amalgamating.  Throughout  God's 
great  kingdom  there  is  a  division  and  a  connec- 
tion of  things,  as  in  families  ;  they  adhere  to  each 
other,  they  always  find  each  other  again.  Were 
it  not  for  this  fundamental  principle  in  creation, 
the  world  would  be  a  chaos,  and  endless  confusion 
of  forces  and  phenomena ;  there  would  be  no 
separation  and  no  combination.  But  light  ever 
blends  with  light,  earth  with  earth.  Watery  par- 
ticles rise  up  from  ocean,  lakes,  and  rivers,  but 
return  again  from  the  skies  as  rain  or  dew.  Each 
thing  finds  its  like.  I  am  astounded  at  the  effects 
even  of  the  elective  affinities  in  lifeless  matter, 
in  which  like  always  seeks  and  amalgamates  irre- 
sistibly with  like,  while  it  rejects  whatever  is 
foreign  to  it.  And  what  we  call  elective  affinity 
and  sympathy  in  the  material  world,  is  love  in  the 
spiritual  realm.  God  himself  is  the  highest  power 
of  love,  hence  the  never-satisfied  yearning  of  the 
spirit  for  union  with  him,  for  happiness  in  him, 
for  perfection. 

And  if  this  divine  law  of  attraction  and  re- 
union rules  on  earth,  and  in  the  high  heavens, 
as  far  as  my  eye  can  penetrate  the  various  fami- 
lies or  galaxies  of  stars,  —  where  every  planet 
has  its  satellite,  where  every  sun  belongs  to  a 
special  system  of  planets,  —  can  we  suppose  that 
it  rules  less  in  the  world  of  the  higher  spirits, 
where  that  which  in  lifeless  things  is  but  a  vague 
impulse,  is  raised  and  ennobled  into  a  conscious 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.     325 

sentiment?  —  in  that  world  where  dwells  God, 
the  source  of  all  love,  where  his  laws  and  his 
works  are  but  the  results  of  love  ? 

It  is  true,  the  form  in  which  the  beloved  being 
became  dear  to  me  on  earth  rests  in  the  grave. 
But  in  reality  it  was  not  this  perishable  form  that 
I  loved,  but  the  imperishable  spirit ;  and  the  veil 
that  surrounded  the  lovely  soul  was  only  dear  to 
me  because  of  its  connection  with  the  angel  spirit 
whom  it  concealed.  The  veil  has  fallen,  but  the 
angel  lives  !  But  shall  I  meet  him  again  ?  If  so, 
how  shall  I  recognize  him,  since  he  has  lost  that 
outer  form  in  which  alone  I  knew  him. 

Why  these  questions  so  full  of  doubt  ?  Poor 
mortal,  hast  thou  measured  the  power  of  God? 
By  what  means  do  the  elementary  bodies  in  cre- 
ation find  and  recognize  each  other? 

When  bright-eyed  spring  awakes,  millions  of 
plants  stand  forth  in  the  full  bloom  of  their  love- 
liness, and  each  species  sends  forth  through  the 
air  its  golden  pollen  to  the  others  of  its  kind. 
Without  this  pollen  fructification  is  impossible. 
These  blossoms  are  often  separated  by  consider- 
able distances,  and  yet  the  pollen,  the  almost 
invisible  dust,  finds  the  flower  for  which  it  is 
intended.  Among  millions  of  flowers  it  floats 
as  if  attracted  by  some  magic  power  towards 
that  one  only  which  is  of  similar  nature  to  itself. 
Here  in  this  earthly  part  of  creation  is  a  miracle 
which  I  witness  every  year.      And  is  this  mir- 


326      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

acle  of  the  Almighty  not  an  indication  of  the 
things  of  eternity?  That  infinite  power  of  God 
which  guides  the  fructifying  pollen  from  afar  to 
the  only  flower  that  awaits  it,  can  it  fail  in  the 
realm  of  higher  beings,  more  closely  akin  to  the 
Godhead  ?  O  yes  ;  there  is  reunion  after  death  ! 
That  which  God  has  united  is  united  forever. 
Therefore,  O  beloved  spirit !  beloved  through 
eternity !  we  can  never  be  parted.  Thou  in 
heaven,  and  I  on  earth,  belong  to  each  other 
forever.  Be  happy  in  the  higher  regions  where 
thou  dwellest.  I  shall  one  day  be  with  you  in 
paradise.  Why,  then,  should  I  weep  ?  We  are 
both  living  in  the  great  house  of  our  Father.  To 
me  thy  absence  is  pain,  it  is  true  ;  but  I  could 
not,  would  not,  wish  that  thou  shouldst  again 
wander  with  me  here  on  earth  among  the  living. 
Even  had  I  the  power  to  call  thee  down  again 
from  thy  blissful  habitation,  I  would  not  do  so. 
For  thou  hast  fought  the  good  fight;  thou  hast 
won  the  victory ;  it  is  not  for  thee  to  return  to 
me,  but  for  me  to  hasten  to  thee.  I  know  the 
way  that  will  lead  me  to  thee  without  fail,  —  it  is 
the  path  of  earnest  dutifulness,  the  sincere  Chris- 
tian spirit  with  which  I  fulfil  God's  behests  on 
earth,  —  it  is  the  way  to  God  himself.  Sin  and 
vice  only  can  separate  me  from  God  and  thee. 

My  anguish  was  great  at  thy  death,  but  great 
is  now  the  joy  of  my  soul.  Thou,  O  blessed 
spirit,  art  my  beloved  still,  and  thou  drawest  me 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      327 

with  hallowed  bonds  after  thee  into  the  better 
world.  Through  the  love  of  spirits,  heaven  and 
earth  are  made  akin.  Some  of  my  dear  ones 
are  with  God.  What  a  heavenly  thought  is  not 
this ! 

Father  in  heaven,  my  Father  and  Father  of 
the  glorified  souls  that  belong  to  me  !  As  in  the 
cruel  hour  of  parting  I  raised  my  hands  to  thee 
in  anxious  supplication,  and  with  streaming  eyes 
I  prayed,  aO,  leave  me  my  beloved!"  in  like 
manner,  Father,  I  now  raise  my  hands  to  thee, 
with  exultant  satisfaction,  crying,  "  Thanks  that 
thou  didst  call  away  my  precious  one  !  "  His 
death  has,  indeed,  deeply  shaken  my  whole 
being,  but  it  has  made  me  nobler,  holier,  more 
religious.  I  feel  myself  drawn  nearer  to  thee ; 
I  feel  more  alienated  from  earth  and  all  its  be- 
longings, and  will  never  again  give  myself  up  to 
these  with  immoderate  ardor ;  a  bond  is  estab- 
lished between  me  and  eternity  which  can  never 
be  destroyed.  I  no  longer  live  on  earth  only ;  I 
live,  also,  in  heaven  with  thee,  and  the  dear  one 
whom  thou  gavest  me,  and  whom  thou  didst 
take  away. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  thought  of  death 
and  the  grave  overwhelmed  me  and  made  me 
shudder.  How  coidd  I,  indeed,  love  death  and 
the  grave,  when  to  me  they  were  only  the  great 
gulf  that  threatened  to  swallow  up  my  happiness ! 
Then  the  earth  was  still  a  heaven  to  me,  and  thy 


328      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

heaven,  O  God,  a  sacred  desert,  in  which  I 
thought  of  myself  as  a  stranger,  whom  no  one 
there  knew  or  loved.  And  I  feared  death,  and 
recoiled  from  the  unknown  land. 

Now  it  is  the  goal  of  my  longings  ;  there  is  my 
haven  of  rest,  my  home,  all  that  I  most  treasure ! 
There  are  the  companions  of  my  heart,  of  my 
life  !  And  when  I  feel  most  happy  among  my 
friends  on  earth,  the  thought  comes  to  me,  In 
heaven  thou  wilt  be  happier  still !  When  gloom 
settles  on  earthly  things,  I  say  to  myself,  Yonder 
all  will  be  clear  and  unclouded. 

Through  Jesus  Christ  I  will  render  myself 
worthy  of  the  bliss  thou  hast  prepared  for  me 
from  the  beginning  of  time.  O  Father,  I  will  do 
thy  bidding  !  I  will  live  a  life  of  love  and  devo- 
tion to  my  fellow-men,  so  that  I  may  hereafter, 
in  my  glorified  state,  enjoy  thy  love.  Amen. 
Help  me,  O  Lord  Jesus,  Light  of  my  soul! 
Amen. 


INTERPRETATIONS    OF   ETERNITY. 

Fifth   Meditation. 


REUNION. 

When  o'er  my  cold  and  narrow  bed, 
The  last  fond  parting  tear  is  shed 

By  sorrowing  friendship,  broken-hearted, 
In  that  blest  life  shall  I  rejoice, 
Where  round  me  sounds  each  dear  one's  voice, 

Where  God  again  unites  the  parted. 

What  we  begin  in  weakness  here 
Shall  rise  to  full  perfection  there,  — 

Perfect !  eternal !  —  one  the  word. 
The  earthly  germ  of  pui-est  love 
Can  only  bloom  in  heaven  above  ; 

For  there  is  bliss,  and  there  the  Lord. 

(John  xvi.  16-22.) 

'ISE  up,  O  my  soul,  from  the  tumult 
of  this  life  into  thy  true  freedom ; 
throw  off  the  burden  of  thy  sorrows 
and  expand  in  the  hope  of  eternal 
peace ;  look  up  from  the  whirl  of  pleasure,  and 
contemplate  thy  higher  destination  ! 

For  what  is  this  drop  of  earthly  life  in  which 
thou  at  present  revellest,  when  compared  to  the 
ocean  of  infinite  glory  which  will  be  opened  to 


330      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

thy  admiring  gaze  when  this  short  dream  is  past  ? 
What  is  all  the  pomp  of  the  earth,  all  the  glitter 
of  golden  dust  here  below,  when  compared  to  the 
splendor  that  will  meet  thine  eyes  at  the  portals 
of  Eternity  ?  Ah,  why  waste  thy  admiration  on 
the  poor  torch  with  which  thou  illuminest  thy 
dwelling  ?  What  is  it  compared  to  the  lustre  of 
the  sun,  in  whose  effulgence  countless  worlds 
float,   drinking  in  light  and  heat  and  life  ? 

Yea,  Eternity,  final  goal  towards  which  all  are 
hastening,  —  the  sorrowing  and  the  joyful,  the 
king  and  the  beggar,  the  sage  and  the  fool,  the 
old  man  and  the  laughing  child,  —  Eternity,  that 
awaits  us  all,  be  thou  to-day  the  subject  of  my 
thoughts  !  The  very  mention  of  thy  name  makes 
my  soul  feel  freer,  nobler,  purer  !  Earthly  things, 
which  at  other  times  fill  me  with  pleasure,  or 
wound  me  with  their  thorns,  seem  insignificant 
and  contemptible  in  thy  presence.  Religion  is 
more  attractive,  more  divine,  more  exalting,  when 
it  awakens  in  my  bosom  wonderful  presentiments 
of  a  future  existence.  Eternity,  at  the  thought 
of  which  levity  shudders,  sin  turns  pale,  and  the 
sceptic  trembles  in  doubt,  —  Eternity,  consum- 
mator  of  all  that  is  begun,  retributive  judge  with 
sword  and  palm-branch,  all-reconciling,  all-equal- 
izing Eternity,  —  thou  art  the  comforter  of  the 
sage,  the  joyful  hope  of  the  Christian  ! 

To  me  also  thou  shalt  bring  consolation  and 
hope,  —  consolation,  when  I  weep  over  my  un- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      331 

happy  lot ;  hope,  when  amid  a  cheerful  circle  of 
friends  I  rejoice  in  life.  Consolation,  when  my 
views  of  life  become  obscured  by  melanchply ; 
hope,  when  in  the  midst  of  joy  and  happiness 
the  thought  forces  itself  upon  me,  Everything 
changes,  and  what  man  possesses  is  taken  from 
him  again  !  Consolation,  when  the  hand  of  death 
robs  me  of  my  dear  ones,  when  I  stand  sorrowing 
by  their  death-bed,  gazing  with  tearful  eyes  at 
their  pale,  cold,  rigid  features,  which  will  never 
again  smile  sweetly  upon  me  ;  hope,  when  one 
day  death  beckons  me  also,  and  I  must  part  from 
souls  tenderly  devoted  to  me,  from  affectionate 
friends  and  weeping  orphans. 

O  Eternity,  my  hope  and  consolation,  revealed 
to  me  through  Jesus  Christ,  thou  storest  up  for 
me  all  the  treasures  of  joy  which  have  fled  from 
me  here  below  !  Why,  then,  should  I  tremble 
before  thee  ?  Towards  thee  the  storm-wind  car- 
ries the  sweet  blossoms,  which  it  here  snatches 
from  my  wreath  of  joys.  Why,  then,  tremble  at 
the  thought  of  thee  ?  In  thee,  and  in  thee  only, 
can  I  find  again  that  which  I  have  lost  on  earth, 
and  that  which  I  shall  leave  behind  me  on  earth, 
when  I,  in  my  turn,  am  called  away.  What  deep 
and  rapturous  emotion  is  caused  by  the  thought, 
that  I  shall  find  ao;ain  what  I  have  lost !  That  in 
eternity  I  may  hope  to  see  again  those  whom  I 
saw  and  loved  on  earth  !  O  my  dear,  my  beloved 
parents  !     O  affectionate  companions  of  my  child- 


332      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

hood !  0  ye  who  were  bound  to  my  heart  by 
ties  of  blood  and  tenderness !  O  ye  whom  my 
tears,  my  silent  despair,  could  not  recall  to  life  ! 
O  ye  who  departed  sorrowfully  from  me  to  go 
over  into  the  better  existence,  —  I  shall  find  you 
again!  I  shall  see  you  again! 

My  heart  swells  with  new  and  heavenly  joy,  — 
my  eyes  o'ernow  with  tears  of  longing,  —  my 
spirit,  rising  on  the  wings  of  prayer,  guided  by 
the  light  of  religion,  approaches  the  mysterious 
portals  of  eternity ;  it  draws  nigh  unto  you  in  the 
lovely  and  distant  worlds  in  which  God  dwells, 
and  where  you  abide,  in  a  nobler,  happier  state 
than  mine.  I  am  still  here  in  the  prison-house 
of  earth ;  ye  are  free  in  the  higher  world !  I  am 
still  weak  and  imperfect,  now  dwelling  in  sun- 
shine, now  in  shade  ;  ye  revel  in  the  never-cloud- 
ed brightness  of  the  Deity,  of  the  angels,  and  the 
blessed !  O,  could  ye  hear  the  voice  of  my  heart, 
could  ye  see  the  tears  with  which  I  yearn  for 
you  !  I  call  to  you,  I  sob  forth  the  prayer,  Re- 
member in  your  beatitude  the  one  you  left  behind, 
and  who  will  love  you  evermore !  There  is  a 
God,  and  God  will  reunite  us! 

We  shaM  see  each  other  again !  It  is  no  dream, 
it  is  no  delusion !  Jesus,  the  sanctifier  of  the 
world,  Jesus,  the  Revealer  of  God,  has  promised 
it  to  his  followers. 

He  spake  the  sweetest  of  all  consolations  when, 
in  one  of  the  most  trying  hours  of  his  life,  he 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     333 

foretold  to  his  disciples  the  tribulations  and  perse- 
cutions they  would  have  to  endure ;  and  en- 
deavored to  prepare  these  men,  who  clung  to  him 
with  childlike  simplicity  and  devotion,  for  his 
death,  his  going  in  to  the  Father.  "A  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  me  ;  again,  a  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  see  me,  because  I  go  to  the 
Father.  Ye  now  have  sorrow  ;  but  I  will  see  you 
again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy 
no  man  taketh  from  you."     (John  xvi.  16,  22.) 

We  shall  see  each  other  again !  In  that  fearful 
hour  of  death  when  Christ,  bleeding  on  the  cross, 
seemed  abandoned  by  God,  a  malefactor,  con- 
demned to  the  same  death  as  himself,  but  full  of 
faith,  prayed  to  him  for  comfort,  and  Jesus  gave 
him  the  most  blessed  of  all  consolations.  "  Veri- 
ly," so  spake  the  World-Redeemer,  and  spake  it 
with  dying  voice,  —  "  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To- 
day shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  (Luke 
xxiii.  43.) 

Can  I  doubt  when  Jesus  speaks,  Jesus,  the  mi- 
raculous Heaven-sent  Messenger,  Jesus,  born  of 
God,  and  who  came  to  enlighten  the  dark  world 
of  spirits  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  the  Eter- 
nal Father  ?  Can  I  doubt  the  word  of  life  which 
he  brought  to  many  ?  In  whom  could  I  believe 
if  not  in  him  ?  Is  there  any  one  who  before  him 
or  after  him  has  proclaimed  more  sublime  and 
sacred  truths  ?  Who  has  there  been  before  or 
after  him  who,  like  him,  has  taught  in  such  a  way 


334     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

that  the  wisest  of  living  men,  and  the  simplest 
child,  could  follow  him  as  an  unerring  guide  ? 
Who  has  before  him  or  since  given  such  an 
example  to  the  world  of  holy  living?  Who 
has,  like  him,  taught  the  human  race  self-knowl- 
edge, and  pointed  out  its  true  dignity  and  desti- 
nation ? 

We  shall  see  each  other  again !  Jesus  hath 
said  it.  With  deepest  fervor  my  faith  embraces 
this  divine  truth,  which  I  hold  from  him,  and 
which  is  in  such  perfect  harmony  with  God's  love 
and  greatness  ;  which  affords  a  sacred  key  to  the 
thousand  dark  mysteries  of  life  on  earth,  and 
without  which  I  can  see  naught  in  creation  but 
saddest  contradiction,  aimlessness,  and  confusion. 

Thou  sayest,  O  melancholy  sceptic :  "  I  cannot 
conceive  how  we  shall  be  able  to  find  each  other 
and  to  recognize  each  other  in  that  other  world  ! 
For  though  the  spirit  may  go  into  a  happier  ex- 
istence, the  body,  through  means  of  which  we 
know  each  other  here  below,  remains  in  the 
grave,  and  returns  to  the  dust  from  whence  it 
came."  I  admit  that  dust  returns  to  dust;  but 
it  was  not  dust  which  was  loved  by  dust, — it 
was  the  soul  which  clung  lovingly  to  another 
soul.  Thou  doubtest,  because  thou  canst  not 
solve  the  mysteries  of  eternity.  Thou  doubtest, 
because  thy  limited  understanding  cannot  fathom 
the  depths  of  God's  omniscience  and  omnipotence. 
Thou  doubtest,  because    thou  dost  not   know  in 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     335 

what  form  the  spirit  is  clad  after  death.  He 
who  would  know  this,  he  who  would  embrace 
and  understand  the  entire  order  of  creation,  he 
must  himself  be   God.     This  thou  art  not. 

The  limitations  of  thy  understanding  preclude 
thee  from  the  highest  Jc?wwledge  ;  but  the  force  of 
thy  reason  impels  thee  to  nourish  the  highest  faith. 
And  the  laws  of  reason  are  the  voice  of  the 
Deity  !  To  resist  these  laws  is  to  descend  to  the 
level  of  the  animals,  and  is  a  proof  of  insanity. 
Be  what  thou  wert  meant  to  be,  what  thou  art 
bound  to  be,  —  a  reasonable  being,  —  and  thou 
wilt  at  once  find  that  the  most  perfect  accord- 
ance reigns  in  the  universe. 

But  whateveilHhe  cavilling  sceptic  may  say,  he 
can  only  assert  that  it  is  possible  that  death  may 
separate  us  forever !  But  he  can  prove  nothing 
against  the  hope  that  whispers,  It  is  possible  that 
we  may  meet  again  on  the  other  side  of  the 
grave !  His  arguments  are  mere  conjectures, 
inspired  by  his  splenetic  mood,  or,  perhaps,  by  a 
vain  desire  to  say  something  striking.  His  own 
feelings  must  revolt  against  these  weapons,  with 
which,  weak  as  they  are,  he  would  endeavor  to 
shake  the  power  of  his  own  faith,  and  the  faith  of 
all  nations,  civilized  or  savage.  Even  in  soulless 
nature,  we  perceive  that  kindred  forces  mutually 
attract  each  other  in  obedience  to  laws  unknown 
to  us.  And  when  dust  flies  to  dust  to  unite  itself 
with  it,  how  can  we  suppose  that  higher  organiza- 


336     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

tions,  self-conscious  beings,  should  be  excluded 
from  the  rule  of  these  beneficent  laws  of  attrac- 
tion ?  Are  our  spirits  of  less  importance  than  the 
pollen,  which  escapes  from  the  cup  of  the  flower 
to  seek,  among  a  thousand  others,  for  one  of  simi- 
lar nature  which  it  may  fructify?  Sceptic,  ex- 
plain to  me  this  incomprehensible  wonder,  and  I 
will  explain  to  thee  how  self-conscious,  self-direct- 
ing, and  living  spirits  find  each  other  again,  and 
satisfy  their  yearnings  in  the  regions  of  eternity. 

Was  it  man  who  prescribed  for  man  the  law  of 
eternal  love  ?  Was  it  man  who  implanted  in  his 
own  bosom  all  the  best  affections  ?  Was  it  man 
who,  together  with  the  sentiment  of  love,  created 
its  desire  for  everlasting  duration  ?  Nay,  it  was 
God's  hand  that  planted  these  feelings  in  our 
hearts  ;  it  was  God  who  inspired  the  desire  of  kin- 
dred souls  for  eternal  union.  And  He  who  bound 
us  together  here  on  earth,  for  a  brief  space  of 
time,  by  such  tender  ties,  —  he  who  is  Love, 
Mercy,  Goodness,  —  would  he  dissever  again,  for 
no  purpose,  the  bonds  which  he  himself  had 
woven  ?  He,  the  Most  Blessed,  would  he  inflict 
upon  us  woe  greater  than  the  most  cruel  of  men 
could  subject  us  to?  He,  the  all-holy  One,  would 
he  delude  us  through  means  of  our  holiest  feel- 
ings, and  deceive  us  in  the  hour  of  death  ?  He 
who  bids  our  hearts  to  love,  would  he  desire  to 
witness  our  despair  ? 

Base    and   terrible  thought,  flee  from  me.     I 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      337 

believe  in  the  all-perfect  God,  and  with  this  faith 
comes  the  tranquillizing  conviction  that  he  will 
not  dissever  the  sacred  ties  that  bind  sonl  to 
soul,  and  which  he  himself  created.  He  is  all- 
perfect,  and  cannot  repent  of  any  of  his  works. 
How,  then,  should  he  repent  the  noblest  of  his 
inspirations  and  provisions,  —  the  mutual  love  of 
souls,  their  happiness,  and  its  duration  ? 

God  is  !  Therefore  shall  we,  who  were  created 
for  each  other,  meet  again.  He  is  the  Creator, 
and  he  is  love  !  We  shall  see  each  other  a£cain, 
we  shall  belong  to  each  other  again ;  eternity  will 
satisfy  the  longings  of  millions  of  noble  souls. 

What  would  immortality  be  without  the  im- 
mortality of  my  consciousness,  without  a  continu- 
ance of  my  higher  essence  ?  And  is  it  not  the 
power  of  virtue  and  love  in  the  soul,  which  alone 
gives  me  any  value  in  my  own  eyes,  and  makes 
the  world  of  any  value  to  me  ? 

Immortality  without  the  consciousness  that  I 
have  previously  existed,  without  connection  with 
the  past,  would  not  be  immortality,  but  annihila- 
tion. Were  I  to  be  born  again  in  eternity  without 
any  consciousness  of  my  past  existence,  my  birth 
would  be  nothing  more  than  the  creation  of  a 
new  being;,  who  had  never  until  then  existed. 

No ;  God  is !  And  sure  as  he  is  eternal  and 
all-perfect,  I  am  immortal ;  and  being  so,  the 
power  of  my  spirit,  my  virtue,  my  love,  cannot 
die   with   my  body.     Every  nightly  slumber   on 

15 


338      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

earth  is  like  unto  death,  and  every  awakening 
like  the  new  existence.  Each  morn  when  I  arise 
from  sleep  the  remembrance  of  my  previous  life, 
my  acquired  virtues,  my  sentiments  of  friendship, 
return.  Explain  to  me,  O  sceptic,  what  makes 
this  miracle  possible  every  morning ;  then  will 
I  explain  how  it  is  possible  that  kindred  souls 
should  recognize  each  other,  and  cling  to  each 
other,  in  eternity  also. 

Were  those  bonds,  which  God  has  knit  to- 
gether, to  be  dissevered  forever  by  death ;  were 
my  faithful  love  and  the  hope  of  sweet  reunion  to 
die  with  my  body,  —  O  then  all  that  seems  to 
me  most  glorious  in  God's  world  would  be  dis- 
jointed and  annihilated !  My  soul  would  be 
robbed  of  its  most  precious  treasures,  of  its  sweet- 
est joys,  —  all  eternity  would  be  to  me  like  a 
place  of  banishment,  where  my  bereaved  soul 
would  roam  about,  searching  in  vain  for  what  it 
had  lost.  O  in  that  case,  an  everlasting  grave 
would  be  far  preferable  to  an  everlasting  life,  in 
which  love  could  only  weep  hopelessly  at  the  re- 
membrance of  its  losses.  Then  we  should  shun 
love  and  friendship  on  earth  even  more  than  envy 
and  hatred.  Then  the  greater  part  of  the  earthly 
life  of  millions  and  millions  of  noble  human  spirits 
will  have  been  as  naught.  O  then  I  should 
implore  the  Eternal  Love  to  root  out  all  affection 
from  my  heart.  My  cry  to  God  would  be  :  Why 
didst  thou  give  me  a  heart,  if  such  wounds  were 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      339 

to  be  inflicted  on  it  ?  Why  didst  thou  lead  be- 
loved souls  towards  me,  if  thou  didst  mean  to 
tear  them  away  from  me  again  ?  Why  didst  thou 
bestow  upon  me  this  sentiment  of  love,  this  heart 
full  of  faith,  if  it  only  enables  me  to  feel  more 
deeply  my  losses,  only  gives  me  the  capacity  for 
more  intense  suffering?  In  vain,  then,  is  the 
hope  which  makes  husband  or  wife  die  with  the 
name  of  the  beloved  spouse  on  his  or  her  lips, 
which  makes  a  sister  pronounce  the  name  of  a 
dear  brother,  or  a  tender  mother  that  of  her  dar- 
ling child  ?  Eternity  would  thus  be  an  infinitely 
enduring,  never-satisfied  longing,  —  a  never-ceas- 
ing lamentation  over  losses  never  to  be  repaired. 

Nay,  sad  sceptic,  listen  to  the  words  of  Jesus, 
who  promises  us  reunion  in  eternity !  Listen  to 
the  voice  of  reason,  which  condemns  those  in- 
sane doubts  of  thine,  that  would  throw  the  world 
into  confusion,  and  would  make  thine  own  life 
and  the  whole  of  creation  appear  aimless  and  dis- 
jointed !  Acknowledge  what  experience  teaches 
thee  each  day,  what  the  entire  history  of  the 
world,  what  every  look  at  the  wide  creation 
teaches  thee, —  God  leaves  nothing  incomplete  which 
he  has  created  !  He  does  not  begin,  and  then  leave 
unfinished ;  he  is  eternal,  and  eternal  is  all  that 
he  has  brought  into  existence. 

One  of  the  most  blessed  and  tranquillizing  rea- 
sons for  the  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
is  the  inward  aspiration  after  virtue,  and  the  hap- 


340     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

piness  attendant  upon  this,  which  the  Deity  has 
implanted  in  us.  The  goal  we  thus  strive  for  is 
seldom  reached  on  earth;  the  virtuous  man  is 
often  the  most  unhappy ;  therefore,  only  in  eter- 
nity can  this  thirst  for  perfection  and  for  happi- 
ness be  satisfied;  but  there  it  must  be  satisfied, 
if  everything  here  below  is  not  to  be  looked  upon 
as  aimless,  and  if  virtue  itself  is  not  to  be  deemed 
a  vain  delusion. 

Every  reason  for  belief  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  is  at  the  same  time  a  reason  for  the 
belief  that  kindred  souls  will  meet  again  in  eter- 
nity. Alas !  what  manifold  sufferings  do  not 
noble  beings  here  below  endure  for  the  sake  of 
their  beloved  ones, —  friend  for  friend,  parents 
for  children.  And  can  we  suppose  that  these 
tears,  these  cares,  these  sacrifices,  will  remain 
unrequited  ?  Death  robs  them  of  the  noblest,  the 
dearest,  part  of  their  life  ;  and  you  suppose  that 
their  grief  would  remain  unheeded,  forgotten,  by 
the  justice  of  an  all-loving  Godhead  ? 

No,  no  ;  the  heart  revolts  against  this  thought ; 
reason  condemns  it ;  the  divine  words  spoken  by 
the  lips  of  Jesus  contradict  it. 

Dwell  ever  with  me,  sweet  and  heavenly  faith, 
that  I  shall  one  day  meet  again,  in  the  land  where 
tears  never  flow,  all  the  dear  ones  whom  I  have 
lost  here  below.  This  faith  dispels  the  gloom  of 
life.  In  its  light  God  and  his  creation,  life  and 
eternity,  appear  in  more  glorious  connection  and 
accordance. 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.     341 

We  shall  meet  again,  —  what  matters  it  how 
and  where  ?  God  is  there  as  here,  and  his  will 
is  our  bliss.  We  shall  be  reunited,  O  ye  ever- 
beloved  souls  !  it  is  no  dream,  no  empty  delusion, 
that  we  shall  belong  to  each  other  forevermore. 

Ah  ye,  whose  lowly  graves  the  green  mould  of 
forgetfulness  is  already  overspreading,  ye  are  not 
forgotten  by  me.  My  heart  still  beats  for  you  as 
when  it  responded  to  yours ;  my  eyes  still  shed 
tears  at  the  remembrance  of  our  parting.  We 
are  not  separated  forever.  Perhaps  ye  remember 
me  in  yon  happier  regions,  as  I  remember  you 
here  below.  For  me  this  life  has  no  longer  any 
attractions.  I  have  no  rest,  no  joy,  but  with  you ; 
my  every  wish  follows  you  into  the  better  world. 
And  ye,  O  ye  blessed  ones !  perhaps  ye  smile  at 
my  grief  as  glorified  spirits  smile,  knowing  how 
near  is  the  hour  of  reunion.  Ye  smile  as  does 
the  husband,  who  after  long  absence  from  his  be- 
loved spouse,  draws  nigh  unknown  to  her,  and 
while  she  is  still  lamenting  over  the  separation. 

Ah  ;  when  shall  I  again  embrace  you  ?  When 
shall  I  cease  to  sigh?  When  shall  I  again,  in 
intimate  and  eternal  union  with  you,  praise  the 
Lord  and  Creator  for  our  ineffable  bliss  ?  Even 
the  remembrance  of  our  life  on  this  earth  will 
still  be  dear  to  us ;  for  here  we  found  each  other ; 
here  it  was  that  God  gave  us  to  each  other ;  here 
our  souls  blended  with  each  other ! 

O   God,  thou  art  love  !     Why  do  I  continue 


342     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

to  weep  for  the  dead  ?  They  have  gone  to  thee, 
and  I  shall  see  the  blessed  ones  again  !  To  those 
who  have  faith  in  thy  fatherly  love,  even  the 
pain  of  waiting  becomes  a  sweet  enjoyment. 
Calmly  I  bide  the  hour  when  thou  wilt  lead 
me  in  to  the  dear  ones.  With  rapturous  delight 
I  look  forward  to  an  eternity  of  bliss,  and  with 
thankfulness  I  look  up  to  Him  who  has  prepared 
this  happiness  for  me  from  the  beginning  of  all 
things. 


INTERPRETATIONS    OF   ETERNITY. 

Sixth    Meditation. 


REUNION. 

Ah,  no  !     The  universe  is  not  a  dream  ; 

This  life  is  not  a  fragment  cast  aside ; 
Each  is  a  part  of  the  eternal  scheme, 

By  which  a  better  life  to  this  is  tied. 
Departed  spirits  do  but  soar  above ; 
The  lost  on  earth,  the  dear  ones  whom  we  love, 

Wait  till  we  stand,  uprisen,  by  their  side. 

O,  blessed  promise,  which  the  Saviour  gave, 
Thou  fillest  us  with  rapture,  ever-growing 

Thou  shinest  over  every  loved  one's  grave 

On  which  our  sorrowing  tears  are  sadly  flowing. 

Thou  guidest  our  weary  souls  along  the  road 

Tlrat  leads  us  heavenward,  through  faith,  to  God, 
And  to  a  union  which  no  end  is  knowing. 

(Revelation  iii.  21.) 

HOU  art  taught  by  the  revelations 
of  Jesus ;  by  the  voice  of  the  past 
sounding  through  a  thousand  years ; 
by  the  evidences  in  nature,  from  the 
grain  of  sand  to  the  glittering  star ;  and  by  thy 
inward  monitor,  thy  conscience.  Thou  confess- 
est:    Yes,  there  is  a   God!  an  almighty,  all-holy, 


344      INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

all-just  Being,  who  created  the  universe,  and  who 
directs  the  lifeless  forces  in  it ;  who,  as  the  Eter- 
nal Spirit,  loves  all  spirits  as  his  children;  who 
does  not  repent  of  what  he  created  in  his  om- 
niscience ;  who  does  not  destroy  the  least  grain 
of  sand  in  his  creation,  and  much  less  the  no- 
bler energies  in  it,  —  the  human  spirits  which 
are  capable  of  conceiving  God  and  honoring 
him. 

Thou  confessest  that  there  is  a  God,  and  in  so 
doing  thou  confessest  that  immortality  must  neces- 
sarily be  the  destiny  of  our  souls! 

But  if  thy  soul  be  immortal,  thou  canst  not  but 
admit  that,  in  some  way  or  other,  consciousness 
must  be  retained  after  death.  For  not  to  be 
aware  of  thy  identity  is  the  same  as  annihilation. 
Or  not  to  know  that  thou  art  the  same  that 
existed  previously,  and  how  thou  didst  exist,  is 
not  continuance,  but  a  new  beginning,  — -  a  new 
creation. 

Were  we  not  to  be  conscious  after  deatn  of  our 
previous  existence,  our  goodness,  our  nobility  of 
soul,  the  sacrifices  made  by  us  on  earth,  would 
all  be  useless.  For  of  what  avail  would  be  a 
reward  in  the  next  world,  an  amelioration  in 
our  condition,  if  that  which  led  to  it  had  been 
forgotten?  Or  why  should  our  sins  be  judged 
on  high,  why  should  retributive  justice  be  meted 
out  to  us  in  the  degradation  of  our  spirits,  if 
we  are  not  aware  of  how  we  have  merited  our 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      345 

punishment,  our  degradation  ?  Retribution  in  the 
next  world  would  be  meaningless,  rewards  and 
punishments  after  death  might  as  well  be  so  many 
acts  of  injustice,  or  at  least  be  called  so.  Virtue 
here  on  earth,  the  improvement  of  the  soul,  vice, 
its  degradation,  would — if  there  be  no  connec- 
tion between  this  life  and  the  next  —  be  almost  a 
matter  of  indifference.  Whoever  believes  in  the 
perfect  justice  of  God,  whoever  believes  in  the 
absolute  holiness  of  God,  must  also  believe  in  a 
true  continuation  of  the  spirit  life ;  i.  e.  in  a  con- 
tinuance without  interruption,  in  an  intimate  spirit- 
ual connection  between  the  here  and  the  here- 
after. 

Such  a  connection,  however,  is  impossible,  un- 
less the  soul  retain  the  consciousness  of  its  previous 
existence.  The  soul,  when  once  emancipated 
from  the  imperfect  earthly  coil  which  often  im- 
peded its  activity,  may  perhaps  in  the  next  world 
develop  a  vigor  of  which,  in  our  present  state, 
we  can  form  no  conception.  Thus  in  the  dreams 
of  the  old  man  while  his  body  sleeps,  memories 
from  his  youth,  or  his  early  manhood,  which  in 
his  waking  state  he  had  completely  forgotten,  are 
often  revived  with  wonderful  distinctness. 

This  belief  in  the  connection  between  the  fu- 
ture state  and  the  present  has  not  only  at  all  times 
prevailed  among  all  nations  which  have  emerged 
from  the  first  stage  of  barbarism,  but  Jesus,  the 
Divine  Man,  also  shadowed  it  forth  in  that  first 

15* 


346      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

parable  in  which  he  endeavors  to  impress  upon 
men  the  coming  of  a  day  of  retribution.  (Mat- 
thew xxv.  31-46.)  He  introduces  the  righteous, 
and  puts  these  words  into  their  mouth  :  "  Lord, 
when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed  thee  ?  or 
thirsty,  and  gave  thee  drink?  "  Yes  ;  Jesus  who 
was  filled  with  divine  wisdom,  and  to  whom 
divine  revelations  were  vouchsafed,  hath  declared 
to  us  mortals,  not  only  the  undying  nature  of 
our  souls,  but  also  the  uninterrupted  continuance 
of  the  consciousness  of  our  acts.  But  this  con- 
tinuance of  consciousness  is  not  possible,  unless 
we  retain  the  remembrance  also  of  those  persons 
with  whom  we  have  been  intimately  connected  on 
earth.  For  the  greater  number  of  our  actions 
have  had  reference  to  them;  they  have  induced 
our  virtues  and  our  vices  ;  they  have  been  the 
objects  of  our  love  or  of  our  hatred,  of  our  gen- 
erosity or  of  our  malignity,  of  our  mercy  or  of 
our  cruelty. 

To  the  earthly  understanding  which  knows 
only  earthly  means  it  may  indeed  be  difficult  to 
comprehend  how  and  in  what  way  the  recognition 
between  those  whom  God's  love  bound  together 
in  this  world  by  the  ties  of  affection  shall  take 
place  in  the  next.  But  is  it  not  folly  to  reject  a 
thing  as  were  it  not,  merely  because  with  our  lim- 
ited earthly  faculties  we  are  unable  to  conceive  or 
to  imagine  it?  Must  not  the  higher  beings,  if 
they  be  witnesses  of  our  weakness  and  our  con- 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      347 

ceit,  smile  at  our  folly,  as  we  smile  at  the  igno- 
rance of  the  savage,  who  refuses  to  believe  in  the 
possibility  of  men  communicating  their  intimate 
thoughts  to  each  other  in  full  detail,  without  be- 
ing in  presence  of  each  other,  and  without  the 
aid  of  the  voice  ?  He  also  mocks  at  any  one 
who  tells  him,  "  There  are  men  who  possess 
higher  minds  and  greater  cultivation  than  we  ; 
they  can  communicate  and  make  themselves  intel- 
ligible to  each  other,  though  separated  by  thou- 
sands of  miles,  though  mountains,  seas,  rivers, 
and  deserts  intervene  between  them."  And 
when  he  is  told  of  the  art  of  letter- writing,  he 
takes  it  for  supernatural  sorcery. 

Is  not  the  relation  in  which  we  stand  to  our 
future  more  exalted  state,  and  to  our  present 
comprehension  of  it,  very  much  the  same  as  that 
in  which  the  savage  stands  to  us  ? 

The  belief  in  the  recognition  of,  and  reunion 
with,  our  beloved  ones  of  this  world  in  the  future 
existence  beyond  the  grave,  is  coincident  with  the 
belief  in  true  immortality.  We  cannot  separate 
the  one  from  the  other  without  at  once  destroying 
our  conception  of  the  perfection  and  love  of  God. 
Therefore,  though  our  ideas  of  the  future  life 
may  be  very  imperfect,  and  indeed  they  cannot 
be  otherwise,  let  us  remain  satisfied  with  vague 
fore shado wings  of  what  will  be  our  destiny  there. 
We  are  but  children  ;  let  us,  then,  think  of,  and 
believe  in,  that  future   existence   with   childlike 


348      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

simplicity.  For  that  which  will  take  place  when 
the  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorruption,  that  no 
mortal  can  conceive,  no  human  language  express. 

Yet  the  influence  of  the  thought  of  immortality 
and  of  reunion  in  eternity  on  the  heart  is  such, 
that  we  cannot  but  desire  frequently  to  occupy 
ourselves  with  it.  Our  Divine  Master  did  not  in 
vain  give  us  a  conception  of  it.  We  shall  recog- 
nize each  other,  and  our  deeds  shall  cleave  to  us. 
He  distinctly  tells  us  this  in  his  description  of  the 
great  day  of  judgment  and  retribution.  "  Where 
have  we  seen  thee  ?  Where  have  we  had  an  op- 
portunity of  doing  good  to  thee  ? "  inquire  the 
righteous  and  the  sinners  in  the  parable  ;  and  the 
answer  is  :  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  inasmuch  as 
ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  (Matt.  xxv. 
40.) 

The  thought  of  reunion  in  eternity  has,  as  I 
have  said,  a  powerful  influence  on  our  moral  life. 
What  wonder  is  it  that  those  who  cannot  look 
forward  to  this  reunion  otherwise  than  as  a  mo- 
ment of  indescribable  terror,  should  try  to  destroy 
their  own  belief  in  it  ?  What  wonder  is  it  that 
those  who  cannot  dwell  on  the  idea  without  shud- 
dering, should  prefer  to  exert  their  intellect  to 
the  utmost  to  find  plausible  arguments  against  its 
truth,  —  should  prefer  to  live  in  contradiction  with 
their  own  reason,  with  their  own  conceptions  of 
the" power,  greatness,  wisdom,  and  justice  of  God, 
rather  than  admit  this  truth  ? 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      349 

But  not  what  man  wills,  not  what  he  chooses, 
will  take  place,  but  what  the  Eternal  God  wills, 
that  which  he  has  pre-ordained  in  the  harmonious 
organization  of  the  universe,  that  which  he  has 
revealed  to  us  by  general  and  unmistakable  intui- 
tions, that  which  he  has  declared  to  us  through 
his  holy  Word. 

Yea,  frivolous  mother  and  unprincipled  father, 
ye  shall  stand  face  to  face  again  with  the  children 
whom  ye  neglected,  whom  ye  left  in  such  shame- 
ful ignorance,  that  vice  sprung  up  in  their  hearts 
as  weeds  spring  up  in  the  uncleansed  soil.  You 
will  recognize  them  in  their  degraded  state,  and 
their  crimes  will  rise  up  in  judgment  against 
you,  even  yon  side  the  grave,  —  for  it  was  your 
guilty  neglect  that  left  their  young  hearts  to  go 
astray. 

And  thou  who  here  on  earth,  in  thy  base  self- 
ishness, art  a  world  and  a  God  to  thyself;  who, 
entertaining  supreme  indifference  towards  thy  fel- 
low-men, thinkest  only  of  thyself,  and  esteemest 
those  fools  who  labor  disinterestedly  for  others, 
or  perhaps  even  sacrifice  part  of  their  own  happi- 
ness to  secure  that  of  their  fellow-creatures  ;  who 
wilt  thou  meet  in  eternity  ?  Thou  who  never 
thoughtest  of  others,  but  only  of  thyself,  who 
wilt  thou  meet  to  give  to  thee  those  thanks  that 
are  due  to  virtue  ?  No  one  !  Thou  wilt  stand 
alone  in  the  better  world,  alone  and  unloved,  a 
stranger  to  all  who  surround  thee.     No  loving 


350      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

soul  is  there  yearning  for  thy  presence.  Thou 
art  one  of  those  who  have  had  their  reward.  For 
thou  didst  selfishly  stipulate  and  receive  thy  pay- 
ment for  whatever  good  thou  mayest  have  done 
on  earth.  When  thou  gavest  alms,  when  thou 
didst  found  charitable  institutions,  or  contribute 
thy  mite  to  undertakings  for  the  benefit  of  the 
commonwealth,  it  was  with  a  desire  to  gain  favor 
in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  it  was  with  a  view  to 
reaping  honors  in  return.  Thou  hast  passed 
through  life  without  love,  without  friendship,  be- 
cause thou  believedst  all  other  men  to  be  as 
selfish  and  as  basely  interested  as  thyself,  —  with- 
out love,  without  friendship,  thou  shalt  enter  the 
ranks  of  the  immortals,  and  stand  alone  among 
the  blessed. 

We  shall  meet  again  in  eternity !  Tremble, 
covetous  wretch  and  heartless  profligate,  who 
have  despoiled  the  unprotected  widow  and  help- 
less orphans,  or  squandered  in  dissipation  the  sums 
winch  pious  forefathers  bequeathed  for  the  as- 
sistance of  the  indigent  and  unfortunate.  Know 
that  every  sigh  your  hard-heartedness  has  drawn 
from  those  you  have  oppressed  has  been  heard 
by  the  omnipresent  God !  Know  that  the  tears 
which  some  poor  innocent  has  shed  in  secret  at 
your  injustice  have  been  seen  by  an  omniscient 
God !  And  these  sighs  will  be  counted  out  to 
you,  and  the  tears  measured  before  you.  You 
will  meet  again  the  unhappy  victims  whom  you 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      351 

deceived  with  impunity  here  below.  In  the  next 
world  your  deeds  of  darkness  will  be  dragged 
into  broad  daylight.  Your  hypocrisy  will  be 
of  no  avail  yonder,  where  the  All-Just  One 
reigns  and  judges.  Delude  yourselves  on  earth, 
delude  others  as  well ;  but  in  the  end  no  delu- 
sion can  prevail !  Proclaim,  while  here  on  earth, 
there  is  no  God,  no  eternity,  no  reunion !  Even 
here,  the  voice  of  conscience,  in  serious  moments, 
contradicts  the  subtle  falsehood;  even  here,  your 
guilty  hearts  palpitate  at  the  fearful  thought; 
but  God  is,  and  yon  side  the  grave  is  eternity, 
-where  judgment,  and  the  spirits  of  those  you  have 
wronged,  await  you  !  Your  intellectual  subtlety, 
your  loud  denial,  cannot  destroy  eternal  truth. 

God,  eternity,  judgment,  and  meeting  again 
of  spirits  !  Listen  to  this,  shameless  voluptuary ; 
and  turn  pale  at  the  possibility,  tremble  at  the 
reality  !  Listen  to  this,  deceitful  seducer  of  inno- 
cence ;  listen  to  this,  father  of  poor,  abandoned, 
despised  orphans,  on  whom  thou  hast  bestowed 
life,  poverty,  and  shame  ;  thou  shalt  meet  them 
again !  Those  whom  thou  hast  disowned  in  this 
world,  those  whom  here  on  earth  thou  madest  the 
companions  of  wretchedness  and  despair,  shall  wit- 
ness against  thee  in  eternity  !  Merciless  father 
and  seducer,  there  is  a  God  and  a  day  of  retribu- 
tion ;  and  that  day  will  find  thee  without  consola- 
tion. The  innocence  that  fell  a  victim  to  thy 
lusts,  and  which  was  by  thee  given  over  to  perdi- 


352     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

tion  and  everlasting  tears  of  despair,  shall  witness 
against  thee  ! 

The  thoughts  of  those  who  have  known  each 
other  on  earth  meeting  again  in  eternity,  fills  the 
sinner's  heart  with  dismay ;  bnt  in  vain  the  soul, 
conscious  of  its  own  guilt,  resists  the  conviction. 
To  the  holier  spirits  only  is  the  thought  welcome ; 
only  to  virtuous  minds  it  brings  unutterably  sweet 
hopes.  It  gives  them  a  vivid  sense  of  the  un- 
dying nature  of  nobility  of  soul,  of  their  own 
dignity,  and  of  their  high  destination.  It  renders 
life  less  burdensome  to  them,  and  sweetens  the 
hour  of  death.  It  strengthens  then*  endeavors 
to  grow  hi  virtue,  and  their  power  to  overcome 
evil.  They  understand  the  meaning  of  the  sacred 
words :  "  He  that  overcome th  shall  not  be  hurt 
of  the  second  death."     (Rev.  ii.  11.) 

Righteous  old  man,  who  with  failing  powers  art 
tottering  towards  the  end  of  thy  career,  weary, 
and  longing  for  rest,  —  thou  art  happy  !  Thou 
knowest  what  awaits  thee ;  thou  knowest  what 
thou  leavest !  What  happiness  has  earth  still  for 
thee  ?  Thy  senses  are  blunted ;  thy  spirit  can  no 
longer  work  through  them,  no  longer  reveal  itself 
through  them  with  the  same  power.  Thus  also 
in  the  old  fruit-tree,  though  the  wonderful  vital 
force  (the  soul  of  the  tree)  is  present  in  unabated 
vigor,  the  delicate  vessels  and  tubes  through  which 
the  nourishing  sap,  drawn  from  the  earth,  is  sent 
upwards   through  every  branch  and  twig,  have 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      353 

become  time-worn  and  hardened.  Therefore, 
though  the  branches  are  still  clad  in  verdure, 
the  leaves  are  sparse,  and  the  tree  bears  neither 
bloom  nor  fruit. 

Thou  hast  almost  become  a  stranger  on  earth. 
The  playfellows  of  thy  youth  have  long  since  de- 
parted, all  thy  best  friends  thou  hast  survived,  — 
even  the  greater  number  of  the  faithful  compan- 
ions of  thy  later  years  are  in  the  grave.  They 
have  gone  to  rest,  and  thy  dust  will  soon  repose 
by  the  side  of  theirs. 

But  beyond  the  grave  is  thy  fatherland ;  there 
reunion  with  all  the  beloved  of  thy  soul  awaits 
thee  ;  there  thou  wilt  be  surrounded  by  the  angels 
of  thy  childhood ;  there  thou  wilt  behold  once 
more  the  smile  of  the  beings  thou  lovedst  so  ten- 
derly here  below,  but  whose  eyes  thou  sawest 
grow  dim  in  death.  Soon  thy  disenthralled  spirit 
will  speed  to  meet  them,  exclaiming,  with  exult- 
ant joy :  "  Blessed  am  I !  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight ;  blessed  be  the  ineffable  love  of  the  eternal 
Father  of  spirits  !  " 

We  shall  meet  again  !  Youth  and  maiden, 
righteous  children  of  righteous  parents,  who  la- 
ment over  the  death  of  father  and  mother,  you 
will  meet  them  again  !  The  love  of  these  parents 
was  what  you  valued  most  on  earth.  When  cares 
oppressed  you,  your  father's  affectionate  solicitude 
soon  relieved  you  of  the  burden ;  when  sorrow 
weighed  upon  you,  your  tender  mother  knew  how 

w 


354      INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY. 

to  alleviate  it.  They  have  been  called  away  from 
you ;  but  yet  a  little  while  and  they  will  be  re- 
stored to  you. 

There  is  a  way  that  leads  to  them,  often  full  of 
thorns,  and  wearisome  to  wander,  but  unfailing. 
This  is  the  way  which  Jesus  indicated  to  his  be- 
loved disciples,  that  they  might  find  him  again. 
It  is  the  path  of  virtue,  of  holy  sentiments,  and 
deeds.  Never  depart  from  this  heavenly  path, 
never  be  unfaithful  to  the  memory  of  your  par- 
ents. 

When  your  youthful  blood  glows  with  unwonted 
passions  ;  when  vice  approaches  you  in  seductive 
garb  ;  when  turbulent  desires  lead  you  into  peril- 
ous temptations  ;  when  a  moment  comes  in  which 
you  feel  yourselves  wavering  between  innocence 
and  guilt,  between  generosity  and  meanness ; 
when  all  good  resolves  seem  to  abandon  you ; 
when  even  the  voice  of  religion  has  lost  its  power 
over  your  hearts,  —  O  then  think  of  the  beloved 
deceased  and  of  your  future  meeting  with  them, 
and  you  will  recover  your  dignity,  and  resume 
your  allegiance  to  virtue  ! 

Remember  the  beloved  ones  who  have  gone 
before  you,  and  your  future  reunion  with  them, 
when  you  are  praying  in  the  house  of  God,  and 
when  at  your  daily  avocations.  Remember  them 
when  you  are  quaffing  the  cup  of  pleasure,  when 
you  are  engaged  in  the  turmoil  of  business,  and 
when  depressed  by  misfortune,  —  and  you  will 


INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY.      355 

not  lose  sight  of  the  path  that  leads  to  them  ! 
Love  is  an  invisible  spiritual  bond ;  it  reaches 
across  the  grave  into  the  happy  regions  of  the 
better  world ;  it  knits  together  kindred  souls  on 
earth  and  in  heaven,  in  like  manner  as  the  love 
of  God  embraces  the  entire  universe,  and  upholds 
and  blesses  it. 

Remember  the  beloved  ones  and  your  reunion 
with  them  whenever  an  opportunity  offers  to  per- 
form a  noble  deed,  to  do  good  to  an  enemy,  to 
rebuke  the  evil-speaking  of  a  slanderer,  to  help  a 
poor  and  suffering  family,  to  originate  some  under- 
taking of  a  generally  useful  character,  —  you  will 
then  fight  the  good  fight  for  the  crown  of  life, 
and  your  guardian  angels  will  rejoice,  for  eternity 
is  opening  its  portals  to  you. 

We  shall  be  reunited !  Dry  your  tears,  O 
father  or  mother,  who  art  weeping  for  a  beloved 
and  promising  child,  and  thou  also,  lonely  widow, 
sorrowing  in  solitude  ;  cease  to  grieve,  sister,  for 
thy  much-regretted  brother,  or  brother  for  thy 
sister ;  friend,  mourn  no  longer  for  the  friend  torn 
from  thy  bosom.  Close  all  wounds  that  torture 
tender  hearts !  The  dead  are  still  alive.  We 
are  not  parted  forever.     Reunion  awaits  us  all ! 

Divinely  revealed  truth,. be  my  blessed  comfort 
evermore.  I  also  have  lost  what  I  loved.  I  also, 
when  in  solitude,  weep  for  the  sweetest  joys  of 
my  life,  which  have  descended  into  the  grave. 
Into  the  grave  ?     Ah,  no ;  for  it  was  not  the  clay 


356     INTERPRETATIONS  OF  ETERNITY. 

that  I  loved,  but  the  soul,  which  smiled  to  me 
through  the  gentle  eyes,  and  which  spoke  the 
words  of  tenderness  that  sounded  from  the  elo- 
quent lips.  And  this  soul  still  lives,  for  God 
lives.  It  still  loves,  for  God  loves.  O  heavenly 
thought !  I  am  still  cherished  by  my  dear  ones 
in  the  better  world,  with  a  purer,  nobler,  and 
more  tender  affection  than  here  in  the  dust. 

Ye  love  me,  O  ye  dear  ones,  for  whom  my 
tears  flow,  whom  my  love  follows  yon  side  the 
grave.  Love  me,  and  the  grave  cannot  separate 
us.  How  can  it  separate  those  whom  God  united 
here  below  in  such  tender  bonds  ?  My  sadness 
is  not  the  fruit  of  doubt,  but  of  my  longing  for 
you.  We  shall  be  with  each  other  again  in  that 
blessed  land,  where  there  is  no  sorrow  and  no 
parting,  but  only  perfection  and  bliss  inexpressi- 
ble. The  Creator  made  us  for  each  other,  and 
he  created  us  not  only  for  this  earthly  life,  but  for 
eternal  existence.  In  this  world  he  only  allowed 
us,  as  it  were,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  each  other, 
that  we  might  aspire  the  more  ardently  towards 
our  higher  goal.  He  attached  our  hearts  to 
heaven,  not  only  by  the  bonds  of  faith,  but  like- 
wise by  those  of  love. 

Yes ;  on  the  other  side  the  grave,  not  here 
on  earth,  is  my  real  fatherland,  my  true  home. 
Towards  the  land  where  my  loved  ones  dwell, 
turn  my  tearful  eyes  ;  to  it  ascend  my  devout 
thoughts,  my  sacred  vows.     Yes  ;  though  abiding 


INTERPRETATIONS   OF  ETERNITY.      357 


on  earth,  I  will  live  for  eternity ;  among  mortals 
I  will  live  for  the  immortal  ones  who  have  gone 
before  me.  If  there  be  a  sin  cleaving  to  me,  I 
will  cleanse  myself  of  it.  If  there  be  an  impure 
desire  poisoning  my  heart,  I  will  banish  it  forth- 
with. If  there  be  a  wrong  that  I  have  commit- 
ted, I  will  repair  it.  If  there  be  a  fellow-being 
whom  I  have  offended,  I  will  seek  reconciliation. 
We  shall,  we  must,  be  reunited.  O  God,  I 
thank  thee  for  thy  overflowing  grace  and  mercy. 
What  return  can  I  make  ?  I  feel  my  poverty, 
my  impotence  ;  but  I  feel  also  that  through  thee, 
my  God,  my  Eternal  Father,  the  universe  is  blest. 
I  will  seek  solitude,  I  will  fall  down  before  thee, 
with  mingled  tears  of  sadness  and  joy,  and  my 
sighs  and  my  tears  shall  glorify  thee  in  silence. 


MEMORIAL   FESTIVAL    OF   OUR   TRI- 
UMPH   OVER   DEATH. 


Yes ;  thou  shalt  rise  again,  my  dust,  more  blest 
After  thy  hasty  rest. 
Undying  life  to  live, 
Will  He  who  made  thee  give. 
Praised  be  he  ! 

Sown  but  to  bloom  again  once  more,  was  I. 
The  Harvest  Lord  goes  by ; 
He  gathers  in  the  sheaves, 
Nor  thine,  nor  mine  he  leaves  : 
Praised  be  he  ! 

O  day  of  gratitude  !     0  day  of  bliss  ! 
God's  own  best  day  is  this, 
"Which,  my  short  slumber  o'er, 
Prom  the  cold  grave  once  more 
Shall  waken  me. 

How  like  a  dream  will  it  then  seem  to  me  ; 
With  Jesus  shall  I  be, 
In  all  his  joys  I  share, 
Each  weary  pilgrim  care 
Is  past  for  me. 

O,  to  the  Holiest,  my  Redeemer,  lead,  — 
Then  shall  I  live  indeed 
In  sanctity,  there  raise 
My  voice,  his  name  to  praise, 
Poreverrnore  ! 

(Luke  xxiv.  5,  6.) 


OUR   TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH.         359 

ttjj^)HY  seek  ye  the  living  among  the  dead? 
asked  the  angels  of  the  sorrowing 
women  who  came  to  the  sepnlchre 
of  the  Saviour ;  "  He  is  not  here, 
but  is  risen."      (Luke  xxiv.  5,  6.) 

He  is  risen  !  The  disciples  heard  the  tidings, 
and  a  thrill  of  awe  and  joy  passed  through  their 
souls,  and  courage  revived  in  the  hearts  of  the 
timid  among  them,  who,  since  the  death  of  their 
Lord,  had  been  roaming  about  like  sheep  that 
have  lost  their  shepherd. 

He  is  risen !  The  persecutors  and  murderers 
of  the  Messiah  heard  it,  and  were  terror-stricken. 
They  refused  to  believe  in  the  miracle.  They 
endeavored  to  put  it  down  by  audacious  falsehood. 
They  asserted  that  his  disciples  had  stolen  away 
the  dead  body.  But  in  vain  was  their  clamor  ! 
The  living  Christ  appeared  before  his  followers ; 
he  appeared  in  the  land  of  Galilee.  He  is  risen  ! 
cried  the  exultant  heavens ;  and  all  times,  all 
centuries  to  come,  will  repeat  the  joyful  cry. 

My  soul  also  rejoices  that  he  is  risen.  His 
triumph  is  my  triumph  ;  his  victory  over  death 
and  the  grave  is  also  mine  ;  his  life  is  my  life. 
The  festival  of  his  wonderful  resurrection  from 
the  grave  and  from  corruption  is  also  the  memo- 
rial feast  of  my  future  elevation  above  the  world 
and  death,  when  the  corruptible  shall  put  on  in- 
corruption,  and  the  mortal  the  immortal. 

His  resurrection  completed  the  work  of  the 


300  MEMORIAL  FESTIVAL 

Messiah  on  earth.  He  had  lived,  taught,  and 
performed  good  deeds  ;  the  holy  seed  of  God  was 
sown,  but  the  soil  was  still  untilled,  the  growth 
of  the  seed  uncertain.  Christ  was  still  misjudged 
by  many;  the  purpose  of  his  coining  was  not 
understood,  even  by  his  most  intimate  friends. 
They  hoped  that  he  had  come  to  found  an  earthly 
throne  ;  to  restore  the  kingdom  of  David  ;  to  free 
them  from  the  dominion  of  Rome  ;  to  establish 
the  rule  and  the  power  of  the  Jews  over  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  This  was  their  hope.  Yet 
the  Messiah  had  said,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world." 

He  was  doomed  to  suffering  and  death,  to  seal 
the  truth  of  his  doctrine  with  his  blood,  to  fall  a 
willing  victim  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  to 
bring  the  sacrificial  worship  of  the  Hebrews  to  an 
end  by  his  death.  He  suffered  the  death  of  the 
World-Redeemer.  His  blood  was,  as  it  were,  re- 
quired to  make  the  seeds  of  godliness  germinate, 
which  he  had  sown  in  the  rough  soil  of  the  human 
heart. 

But  his  work  was  not  finished.  With  him  died 
the  courage  of  his  first  followers. 

Their  bright  dreams  of  earthly  power  and 
splendor  were  destroyed,  and  with  them  also 
their  hopes  and  prospects. 

His  death  had  rendered  incomprehensible  to 
them  what  he  had  taught  and  prophesied.  The 
life  of  the  Messiah  had  become  a  mystery  to  them, 


OF  OUR   TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH.      361 

their  own  destination  a  secret.  That  which  had 
been  begun  was  not  completed,  but  was  broken 
off.  Gloomy  doubts  obscured  their  souls,  as  the 
night  of  the  sepulchre  hid  the  corpse  of  their 
Divine  Master. 

Just  then  the  tidings  broke  upon  them  :  He  is 
risen  !  And,  lo  !  a  new  day  dawned  upon  them. 
The  mystery  that  clothed  his  words  was  at  once 
solved  ;  they  comprehended  his  prophecies  ;  they 
understood  his  divinity.  Full  of  holy  enthusiasm, 
they  responded  to  his  call.  Now,  shame  and 
honor,  life  and  death,  were  as  naught  to  them 
when  compared  to  the  message  he  had  given 
them  to  deliver.  The  seed  of  God,  which  he 
had  sown,  began  to  sprout  vigorously.  His  res- 
urrection acted  on  it  like  the  breath  of  spring. 
Death  had  vanished ;  hell  was  vanquished ;  hu- 
manity was  reconciled  to  God  ;  the  heavenly 
kingdom  of  spirits  founded ;  he  had  finished ! 
Thus  the  festival  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
became  the  first  and  most  sacred  festival  of  the 
Christians,  and  at  the  same  time  a  memorial  feast 
of  their  own  redemption,  through  Jesus.  Let  us 
keep  the  feast,  said  they  ;  let  us  do  it  in  remem- 
brance of  the  purification  from  sin,  of  which  we 
are  made  capable,  through  his  word  ;  let  us  cast 
away  every  vicious  tendency  that  desecrates  us. 
For  as  a  little  leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump, 
so  doth  the  smallest  sin  dishonor  and  desecrate 
the  whole   dignity  of  man.     "  Therefore,  let  us 

16 


362  MEMORIAL  FESTIVAL 

keep  the  feast,"  cries  St.  Paul,  "  not  with  old 
leaven,  neither  with  the  leaven  of  malice  and 
wickedness,  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of 
sincerity  and  truth."     (1  Cor.  v.  8.) 

As  Jesus  finished  his  task,  so  will  I  finish  mine. 
As  he  completed  the  redemption  of  a  world  from 
the  fetters  of  sin  and  error,  so  will  I  complete 
my  sanctification  through  faith  in  him  and  in  his 
word.  If  his  life  be  my  life,  then  also  is  his  vic- 
tory my  victory,  his  glorification  my  glorification, 
—  then  shall  I  not  taste  death.  My  spirit  shall 
soar  triumphantly  above  the  grave  and  the  dust 
of  earth,  towards  heaven. 

I  will  seek  redemption  through  Jesus,  for  in 
no  one  else  is  there  salvation.  To  be  redeemed 
through  him  is  to  become  like  unto  him  ;  to  be 
pure  in  mind,  and  to  do  good  ;  to  be  free  from 
every  sin,  and  to  live  for  God  alone  ;  to  act  in 
my  appointed  sphere  with  godlike  nobleness  of 
soul,  without  selfishness,  without  base  motives  ; 
to  recognize  in  the  world  of  spirits  my  home,  in 
the  Creator  of  the  boundless  universe  my  Father, 
and  my  kindred  in  all  created  beings  like  myself, 
who  lie  worshipping  at  his  feet ;  to  seek  my  hap- 
piness, not  in  the  dust  and  in  the  fleeting  things 
of  this  earth,  but  in  eternity. 

Christ  has  risen  from  the  dead ;  he  has  finished 
his  work.  I  also  shall  rise  again,  and  shall  com- 
plete my  work.  If  I  live  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus, 
the  grave  has  no  terrors  for  me.     The  grave  can 


OF  OUR    TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH.      363 

only  hold  my  corpse  ;  my  corpse  is  dust  and  ashes  ; 
dust  and  ashes  in  themselves  have  no  life  ;  but 
the  soul  is  life  ;  therefore  my  soul  cannot  die. 

Cannot  die  ?  Not  so  !  Did  not  Jesus  himself 
say,  "  Fear  not  those  who  would  kill  the  body, 
but  those  who  would  kill  the  soul  "  ?  And  what 
is  the  death  of  the  soul  ?     Sin. 

Where  there  is  sin,  there  the  lusts  of  the  body 
prevail ;  there  reason  is  silent ;  there  the  con- 
science is  stifled ;  there  the  activity  of  the  spirit! 
is  paralyzed ;  there  is  death.  Sin  is  the  death  of 
the  spirit.  In  like  manner  as  a  dead  human  body 
is  insensible  to  all  influences  that  may  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  it,  so  is  the  spirit  when  vice  has  con- 
quered. As  the  dead  body  is  without  strength, 
so  also  the  spirit  loses  its  power  when  the  brute 
instincts  are  triumphant.  As  the  dead  body  is 
without  a  will,  so  also  the  spirit  loses  all  freedom, 
where  passions,  such  as  worldly  ambition,  luxuri- 
ousness,  voluptuousness,  covetousness,  and  malice, 
prevail. 

Therefore  is  sin  the  death  of  the  spirit !  And 
can  a  spirit,  that  has  not  lived  a  true  life  on  earth, 
continue  to  live  when  its  body  dies  ?  Does  it  not 
sleep  the  eternal  sleep  ?  Will  it  not  be  as  if  it 
had  never  existed  ? 

It  is  from  that  death  that  Jesus  has  rescued  us 
by  his  doctrine,  not  from  the  death  of  the  body. 
This  death  we  must  all  die.  But  when  we  sanc- 
tify ourselves,  that  is,  when  we  purify  ourselves 


364  MEMORIAL  FESTIVAL 

from  all  vicious  tendencies,  from  all  animal  and 
sinful  desires,  our  spirits  imbibe  eternal  life  in 
vigorous  draughts.  The  death  of  the  body  is  not 
the  death  of  the  soul.  If,  then,  a/ perfect  soul, 
after  the  example  of  Jesus,  does  not  die,  of  what 
importance  is  the  decay  of  our  bodies  ?  We  live  ! 
what  matters  it  that  the  earthly  coil  which  clings 
to  us  should  fall  away  ?  We  live,  and  live  through 
the  word  of  Jesus  ;  and  we  may  exclaim  with 
rapture  :  Where  is  thy  sting,  O  death  ?  O  hell, 
where  is  thy  victory  ?  Praised  be  God,  who  has 
given  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ! 

If  sin  be  the  death  of  the  soul,  then  virtue,  or 
likeness  to  God,  must  be  its  life.  Every  infrac- 
tion of  the  divine  laws  is  a  death-wound  inflicted 
on  the  spirit,  and  every  deed  pleasant  in  the  sight 
of  God  is  a  quickening  of  our  spiritual  life. 

And  thus  I  understand  when  it  is  said,  that  the 
wages  of  sin  are  death  !  When  it  is  said,  that 
Christ  saved  us  from  death,  by  showing  us  the 
way  of  life.  Yes ;  he  has  saved  us  from  death, 
by  showing  us  the  way  of  life ;  by  pointing  out  to 
us  our  high  destination,  and  teaching  us  to  know 
our  own  dignity ;  by  affording  us  the  surest 
means  to  reach  perfection :  his  own  example  ; 
and  by  bidding  us  deny  ourselves  and  our  sinful 
desires,  and  follow  him.  Therefore,  using  figura- 
tive language,  he  called  himself  our  way  to  life. 

Christ  has  risen  !     He  has  finished  gloriously 


OF  OUR    TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH.      365 

his  divine  mission ;  he  has  conquered  death  for 
me,  if  in  my  life  I  do  show  forth  his  merits  and 
his  holiness,  and  avoid  sin,  which  is  spiritual  death. 

As  Christ  had  not  finished  until  his  task  on 
earth  was  completed,  until  the  grave  and  death 
had  been  conquered,  until  his  disciples  had  been 
consecrated,  and  he  had  returned  to  his  Father ; 
so  shall  I  not  have  finished  until  I  have  reached 
the  end  of  my  career.  As  long  as  I  remain  on 
earth  my  existence  will  be  a  constant  wrestling 
with  sin,  a  constant  struggle  with  death.  Not 
until  I  have  reached  the  end  will  it  be  proved 
whether  my  spirit  has  conquered  death  and  sin, 
whether  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  whether  I 
have  won  the  promised  palm  of  life.  How  long 
shall  this  struggle  still  endure  ?  When  shall  I 
rejoice  in  my  victory  over  death  and  sin  ? 

However  long  it  may  be,  I  will  hold  fast  my 
faith,  and  shall  not  weary.  "  For  he  that  over- 
cometh,  saith  the  Lord,  shall  inherit  all  things, 
and  I  will  be  his  God  and  he  shall  be  my  son." 
(Rev.  xxi.  7.)  And  however  long  my  struggle 
may  still  endure,  the  festival  of  the  Messiah's 
completion  of  his  work  shall  be  to  me  a  reminder 
of  the  victory  I  also  must  win.  Ah,  that  I  might 
be  able  each  time  I  celebrate  thy  victory,  O 
Saviour,  to  celebrate  also  my  triumph  over  death 
and  sin ! 

Blessed  are  ye,  O  glorified  spirits,  who  have 
already  overcome  !     O  ye  beloved  of  Jesus  !  ye 


366  MEMORIAL  FESTIVAL 

saints  of  God !  in  solemn  silence  I  will  celebrate 
the  memory  of  your  triumph  also.  Ye  have 
fought  the  fight;  I  am  still  wrestling  with  sin. 
Ye  are  rejoicing,  having  reached  the  gO"al ;  I  am 
still  weeping  at  my  shortcomings. 

Blessed  are  ye,  ye  have  conquered  death  in 
Jesus,  and  with  Jesus  !  The  resurrection  of  the 
Lord  became  your  resurrection.  He  has  risen ; 
he  lives ;  and  ye  live  with  him. 

He  lives  !  He  is  risen !  The  heavenly  assur- 
ance that  this  gives  us,  that  we  also  shall  rise  from 
the  dead,  quickens  the  wounded  hearts  of  the  dis- 
consolate mourners  who  despair  at  their  lost  joys. 
To  us  also  God  has  promised  immortal  life ;  our 
souls  shall  not  be  victims  of  the  grave. 

He  lives !  he  is  risen !  O  disconsolate  father, 
why  walkest  thou  so  sad  and  un sympathizing 
among  thy  fellow-men,  seeking  the  child  of  whom 
death  has  robbed  thee  ?  O  mother,  why  dost 
thou  weep  on  the  tomb  of  thy  darling,  calling  him 
by  his  name,  and  asking  the  silent  and  myste- 
rious grave  to  give  him  back  to  thee  ?  Why,  O 
mourners,  do  ye  seek  the  living  among  the  dead  ? 
Those  ye  love  are  not  there  ;  they  are  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father !  Celebrate  cheerfully  the 
Easter  festival.  It  is  the  festival  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion, and  of  the  remembrance  of  our  victory  over 
death.  Father,  mother,  think  of  this  !  There  is 
no  wall  of  separation  between  life  and  eternity ; 
there  is  no  real  separation  from  those  ye  so  ten- 


OF  OUR    TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH.      367 

derly  loved.  Your  child  lives.  Ye  also  shall 
live  hereafter,  for  Jesus  lives,  God  lives.  There 
is  no  death,  except  through  sin. 

He  lives  !  he  is  risen  !  Unhappy  husband,  why 
pinest  thou  to  descend  into  the  silent  tomb,  where 
she  sleeps  who  was  thy  noblest  possession  on 
earth,  thy  all  in  all  ?  Her  dust  rests  there,  it  is 
true.  But  why  seekest  thou  the  living  among 
the  dead  ?  The  grave  is  not  the  home  of  her 
spirit,  which  was  born  to  eternal  life.  Its  home 
is  in  the  bosom  of  God.  God  is  with  you ;  how, 
then,  are  you  separated  ?  She  lives,  and  thou 
livest,  and  God  embraces  you  both.  Fight  out 
thy  fight,  O  mourner!  the  apparent  separation 
will  not  be  for  long.  Celebrate  cheerfully  the 
Easter  festival.  It  is  the  feast  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion, and  of  our  own  victory  over  death. 

He  lives !  he  is  risen !  Yet  thou,  O  lonely 
widow,  thou  still  lamentest  with  stubborn  grief 
over  thy  departed  husband?  Thou,  O  desolate 
maiden,  askest  the  grave  to  give  up  the  loved  one 
whom  it  tore  from  thy  bleeding  heart?  Thou, 
brother,  still  grieve st  for  the  sister  who  faded  in 
early  youth?  Thou,  sister,  weepest  bitter  tears 
over  a  brother  gone  to  rest?  Whom  seek  ye, 
then,  in  the  grave,  my  friends?  Why  seek  ye 
the  living  among  the  dead  ?  They  are  not  there  ; 
they  are  with  God.  Celebrate  cheerfully  and 
trustingly  the  Easter  festival,  —  the  festival  of 
the  Resurrection,  and  of  our  victory  over  death. 


368  MEMORIAL  FESTIVAL 

Christ  lives !  He  is  risen !  I  also  shall  live 
and  be  with  God.  Jesus'  resurrection  is  my 
resurrection,  because  his  life  is  to  be  my  life. 
We  are  not  the  prey  of  the  grave  !  O  ye  who 
have  already  overcome,  and  ye  who  will  one  day 
overcome,  we  are  all  God's  children?  Why 
should  we   despair? 

O'er  earth  and  time,  my  soul  mount  high, 
O'er  death  and  o'er  mortality, 

Upraise  thee,  trembling  soul. 
Thy  fatherland  is  there,  in  heaven ; 
The  resurrection  was  but  given 

To  lead  thee  to  thy  goal. 
E'en  here,  amidst  the  wreck  of  death, 
The  higher  nature  gleams  beneath. 

Dry  leaves  are  all  thou  look'st  on  here, 
'T  is  dust  of  dust  that  fills  the  bier,  — 

Thy  brother's  earthly  shell. 
The  fragile  shell  may  broken  be, 
And  waste  away  ;  but  not  o'er  thee 

Prevails  the  grave's  dark  spell. 
Free  from  the  burden  of  life's  pain, 
Thy  high  reward  awaits  thee  then. 

The  Father's  love  thou  then  wilt  see, 
His  love  will  comprehended  be, 

His  foresight  wilt  thou  reach. 
Creation's  vast  unbounded  scheme, 
The  countless  myriad  worlds  that  gleam, 

"Will  all  his  wisdom  teach. 
Bright  midst  the  starry  host  divine 
Shall  the  new  earth  and  heaven  outshine. 


OF   OUR    TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH.      369 

Then,  full  of  joy  and  reverence  deep, 
To-day  thy  resurrection  keep 

With  Christ,  —  thy  life,  thy  light. 
The  blessed  hope  of  Heaven  regained, 
The  endless,  Godlike  life  attained, 

In  his  own  holy  height. 
Was  not  Christ's  coming  but  for  this  : 
Man  to  perfect,  and  win  us  bliss  1 


16* 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF   HOLINESS. 


He  left,  with  honor  crowned,  his  rock-hewn  tomb, 
And  God  was  reconciled  to  man.     The  gloom, 

The  curse,  from  Mount  Sinai  has  passed  by. 
Instead  of  death,  he  gave  us  life  above  ; 
Instead  of  wrath,  he  gave  us  heavenly  love, 

And  confidence  through  his  own  victory. 
He,  he  alone,  fulfilled  it  in  that  hour,  — 
The  work  of  grace,  of  mercy,  and  of  power  : 

All  praise  unto  the  resurrection  be ! 
Death  may  appear, 
We  know  no  fear, 

0  Death-Destroyer,  for  we  follow  thee ! 

Shout,  shout  aloud  to  God  with  joyful  voice  ! 
Let  the  whole  universe  in  praise  rejoice, 

The  conquest  has  been  gained,  the  battle 's  done, 
All  that  was  dim  and  doubtful  is  made  clear, 
God's  will  is  spoken  so  that  all  may  hear, 

He,  the  Most  Holy,  has  the  victory  won. 
Shall  I  not,  then,  with  stronger  courage  bear 
The  galling  weight  of  earthly  grief  and  care  ? 

Can  what  God  loveth  ever  be  cast  down  ? 
Raise  thine  eyes 
Unto  the  skies 

And  know,  the  Eternal  cannot  be  o'erthrown. 

(Rom.  viii.  28.) 

;FTER   the  death  of  Jesus,  his  disci- 
ples fled  in  fear  and  trembling.     They 
sought  solitude  to  weep  over  the  death 
of  their  Divine  Master,  and  also  con- 
cealment from    the    sanguinary   cruelty   of   the 


THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS.  371 

Jews.  And  in  the  first  bitterness  of  their  sorrow 
at  the  loss  of  their  dearly  beloved  friend,  many 
doubts  probably  arose  in  their  breast.  I  seem  to 
hear  their  complaints :  "  Jesus,  our  Divine  Mas- 
ter, fell  a  victim  to  cruel  murderers.  How  could 
God  forsake  the  beloved  One  who  called  himself 
his  Son  ?  How  could  the  Most  Holy  allow  the 
base  multitude  to  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  the 
Holy  One  ?  Who  will  venture  to  be  virtuous 
and  just,  if  virtue  and  justice  lead  to  the  felon's 
doom,  while  vice  triumphs  and  prospers?  Is 
there  a  Judge  on  high,  and  yet  he  is  silent?  Is 
there  an  all-loving  God  in  the  universe,  and  yet 
he  permits  the  innocent  to  suffer  painfully  for 
deeds  of  which  he  has  not  been  guilty  ?  Permits 
him  to  suffer  without  succor,  without  alleviation, 
without  consolation  ?  Does  God  dissever  the 
sacred  bonds  of  love  which  his  own  hand  has 
woven,  and  does  he  leave  hearts  to  bleed  to  death 
of  wounds  which  have  been  inflictea  oecause  they 
trusted  in  him?  " 

But  on  the  third  day  the  strange  rumor  spread 
through  the  land :  The  crucified  has  risen  !  The 
unjust  rulers,  the  murderers,  were  seized  with 
terror ;  but  endeavored  to  allay  their  fears  by 
doubts  and  denial.  The  friends  of  Jesus  heard 
the  tidings,  and,  though  still  doubting,  they  were 
filled  with  gladness.  They  afterwards  beheld 
their  Master  like  one  glorified,  and  with  feelings 
of  devotional  joy  and  awe  they  stammered  forth, 


372  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

"  My  Lord  and  my  God !  r  (John  xx.  28.) 
Holiness  had  triumphed. 

Jesus  had  won  the  great  victory  ;  his  innocence 
had  triumphed  gloriously  over  all  his  past  suf- 
ferings ;  the  Divine  character  of  his  revelations 
was  made  wonderfully  manifest  to  those  who  still 
required  such  a  test.  Treachery,  persecution, 
crucifixion,  death,  and  the  grave  had  proved  of 
no  avail;  They  had  only  been  permitted  that  they 
might  swell  the  triumph  of  the  eternal  Son.  And 
thus,  in  this  superlative  instance  also,  we  behold, 
as  in  a  great  picture,  the  manifestation  of  the 
blissful  truth,  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  hold 
forth  to  us  to  this  day :  "  We  know  that  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God." 
(Rom.  viii.  28.)  That  which  is  holy  must  ulti- 
mately be  triumphant. 

But  what  is  holiness  in  the  spiritual  world?  I 
will  tell  thee.  It  is  immaculate  purity  !  It  is 
that  which  maintains  itself  in  its  native  simplicity 
without  any  admixture  of  things  which  do  not 
belong  to  it.  Therefore,  that  mind  must  be  called 
holy  in  which  only  the  purest  virtue  dwells,  and 
no  passion,  no  tendency  to  sin.  Consequently, 
the  spirit  may  be  said  to  be  sanctified  when  it  is 
unstained  by  anything  earthly,  when  it  is  not 
swayed  by  the  influences  of  the  body,  but  deter- 
mines and  guides  itself  solely  by  its  indwelling 
Divine  laws.  Such  a  spirit  is  sure  of  attaining 
the  highest   good ;    it  approaches   daily  towards 


THE    TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS.  373 

perfection.  Purity  is  indestructible,  eternal ;  only 
that  which  is  mixed,  compounded  of  various  ele- 
ments, is  perishable,  for  it  ultimately  dissolves 
again  into  the  elements  of  which  it  is  composed. 

This  truth  holds  good  of  the  living  and  of  the 
dead.  It  is  a  law  of  nature.  Everything  in  the 
world  which  we  perceive  through  our  senses  is 
composed  of  simple  substances.  As  soon  as  these 
combine,  their  purity  is  alloyed.  But  when,  as 
compound  substances,  they  are  destroyed,  they 
immediately  return  to  their  primitive  purity. 
Thus  gold  is  valuable  in  proportion  to  its  purity. 
In  vain  is  every  attempt  to  destroy  it  by  fire. 
The  ashes  of  burnt  wood  can  never  again  become 
wood ;  but  gold,  when  subjected  to  the  action  of 
fire,  only  throws  off  the  dross  that  is  mixed  with 
it,  and  comes  out  of  the  crucible  purer  and  more 
valuable  than  before.  The  same  is  the  case  with 
a  holy  mind  when  it  passes  through  the  purifying 
fire  of  earthly  tribulation.  It  throws  off  the  sen- 
suous desire  for  honors,  wealth,  and  other  enjoy- 
ments, which  may  still  cling  to  it,  and  comes  forth 
purer  and  holier,  and  with  intensified  conscious- 
ness of  its  own  spotlessness. 

Holiness  wins  the  victory.  The  history  of  all 
times  and  all  nations  proclaims  it.  Many  errors 
have  prevailed  since  the  beginning  of  the  world  ; 
but  they  disappear  gradually  as  men  learn  to  know 
truth.  No  error  can  endure  forever ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  since  the  beginning  of  time  no  truth  has 


374  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

ever  perished.  Each  truth  acquired  is  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation  as  a  precious 
treasure,  and  one  century  inherits  it  from  another. 
No  doubt  it  may  at  times  be  obscured  by  passing 
errors,  as  is  the  sun  by  passing  clouds.  But  the 
clouds  are  no  part  of  the  sun,  and  truth  remains 
ever  distinct  from  error.  It  has,  therefore,  each 
time  come  forth  the  more  majestically  from  out 
of  the  dark  mists  of  ignorance.  Human  violence 
may  indeed  do  much  to  impede  its  progress,  — 
may  silence  men's  tongues  by  fear,  so  that  they 
venture  not  to  declare  the  truth,  and  may  perse- 
cute it  even  unto  death.  But  it  lives  on  in  noble 
minds,  though  all  lips  be  mute  ;  for  though  tongues 
may  be  restrained,  thought  cannot  be  coerced. 
The  spirit  is  free  within  the  realm  of  thought. 
It  scorns  the  impotence  of  man ;  and  on  the  grave 
of  many  a  persecutor,  Truth  has,  with  undying 
energy,  once  more  reared  her  divine  banner. 

Holy  as  truth  is  goodness.  The  history  of  the 
world  bears  witness  to  it.  The  good  that  has 
happened  on  earth  has  been  followed  by  blessed 
and  lasting  consequences.  For  only  that  which 
is  good  and  just  is  in  harmony  with  nature  and 
with  the  soul.  Evil,  on  the  contrary,  is  in  antago- 
nism with  the  entire  creation.  Crime  has  indeed 
often  been  clad  in  royal  purple,  and  has  often 
trampled  on  innocence  with  impunity.  But  the 
purple  has  mouldered  away,  the  crime  remained  a 
crime,  and  from  the  blood  of  the  persecuted  inno- 


THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS.  375 

cence  has  arisen  a  triumphant  avenger.  In  vain 
vice  sharpened  its  murderous  axe,  and  doomed 
virtue  to  die  in  the  flames ;  though  trembling 
cowards  burnt  incense  before  the  ruthless  tyrant, 
the  sinner's  pride  was  soon  laid  low,  and  the 
funeral  pile  of  slandered  innocence  was  changed 
into  a  throne  of  glory. 

For  this  reason  the  memory  of  wise  and  virtu- 
ous men  has  ever  been  revered  even  by  very  re- 
mote posterity.  They  have  been  the  benefactors 
of  entire  nations  and  of  generations  of  men ; 
but  being  misjudged  and  scorned  either  by  the 
ignorance  or  malice  of  their  contemporaries,  they 
have  too  frequently  been  the  victims  of  their  own 
goodness,  and  of  the  barbarity  of  others.  But 
was  the  cause  for  which  they  fought  therefore 
extinguished  ?  No ;  that  which  was  holy  re- 
mained ultimately  triumphant.  With  calm  con- 
sciousness of  the  good  they  had  bestowed  upon 
the  world,  the  noble  spirits  of  these  victims  of 
human  oppression  rose  purified  and  exultant  to 
heaven,  there  to  receive  a  more  glorious  palm  of 
victory  than  could  be  won  on  earth.  "What  did 
they  lose  by  being  misjudged  by  the  world  ?  In 
carrying  out  their  virtuous  purposes  they  thought 
not  of  the  world's  applause,  but  acted  sponta- 
neously, urged  on  by  their  inward  instincts  and 
aspirations.  They  were  consoled  by  their  firm 
conviction  that  they  were  accomplishing  that 
which  would  tend  to  increase  the  happiness  of 


376  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

mankind,  and  which  would  never  be  destroyed. 
And  they  did  not  deceive  themselves.  For  that 
which  is  holy  ever  triumphs  ;  and  posterity  names 
with  a  blessing  the  men  whom  their  contempora- 
ries condemned. 

The  remembrance  hereof  ought  to  strengthen 
and  elevate  our  minds,  and  to  inspire  us  with 
courage  and  unswerving  determination  to  act  so 
as  to  gain  the  approval  of  God.  In  like  manner 
as  the  wisest  and  noblest  among  our  predecessors 
ever  moved  onward  with  their  eyes  fixed  upon 
God,  and  trusting  in  the  righteousness  of  their 
cause,  so  let  us  also  uphold  the  cause  which  we 
consider  good  and  just,  and  likely  to  diffuse  hap- 
piness, though  the  base  multitude  may  scoff  at  us, 
and  accuse  us  of  low  and  selfish  motives,  and  per- 
secute and  ill-treat  us  ;  for  that  which  is  holy  will 
ultimately  gain  the  victory ! 

Be  thou  my  example,  O  Christ,  Friend  of  man  ; 
thou,  who  in  the  great  battle  with  fate  didst  not 
allow  thyself  to  be  led  away  from  the  divine  path 
by  temptations  or  by  threats  ;  but  didst  persevere 
in  love  and  well-doing,  though  surrounded  by 
hatred  and  persecution,  —  be  thou  my  example  in 
action. 

Be  thou  also  my  example  in  patient  suffering, 
thou  greatest  of  sufferers,  who,  when  forsaken  by 
all,  when  betrayed  by  thy  bosom  friend,  when 
thine  enemies  rejoiced  openly  at  thy  fall,  when 
thy  most  faithful  followers  fled  from  before  thee, 


THE   TRIUMPH   OF  HOLINESS.  377 

and  the  most  zealous  denied  thee,  —  still  remained 
meek  and  humble,  unshaken  in  thy  sublime 
grandeur  of  soul,  in  thy  heavenly  virtue. 

And  be  my  example,  my  strengthe'ner  in  hope, 
Saviour,  risen  from  the  dead,  who,  in  the  majesty 
of  thy  victory,  didst  annihilate  the  powers  of  evil 
that  arose  against  thee,  blessed  the  world,  glori- 
ously rewarded  the  devotion  of  thy  beloved  dis- 
ciples, and  beheld  the  heavens  opening  to  receive 
thee,  while  the  nations  of  the  earth  lay  worship- 
ping at  thy  feet. 

That  which  is  holy  ever  remains  triumphant ; 
therefore  be  holy.  Only  that  which  is  impure 
decays  and  perishes ;  therefore  avoid  all  that  is 
impure  !  Has  the  voice  of  God,  speaking  through 
the  marvels  of  nature,  through  human  events, 
and  through  the  holy  words  of  revealed  religion, 
no  power  over  thy  heart  ? 

Be  holy ;  that  is,  be  pure.  Beware  not  to  let 
sensual  influences  obtain  too  great  a  hold  over  thy 
mind,  and  whatever  thou  undertakest,  let  it  never 
be  for  the  sake  of  earthly  reward.  Do  the  good 
that  thou  art  able  to  do,  or  that  thou  mayest  wish 
to  do,  without  any  hope  of  reaping  honors  or  riches 
in  return.  If  thou  lookest  for  such  return,  O 
verily,  then  thou  dost  but  make  virtue  the  tool  of 
thy  baseness,  and  thou  must  be  counted  among 
those  of  whom  the  Saviour  said,  "  They  have 
their  reward !  "  Love  thy  fellow-beings  ;  help 
them  with  a  good- will  whenever  thou  canst  do  so ; 


378  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

alleviate  misery  as  far  as  it  lies  in  thy  power; 
speak  well  of  others  whenever  an  opportunity 
offers  ;  promote  useful  undertakings  even  when 
commenced  by  others  ;  but  do  all  this,  not  in  order 
to  make  thyself  beloved  in  return,  not  in  order  to 
win  a  reputation,  but  because  thou  art  convinced 
that  what  thou  dost  is  right  and  good,  that  the 
deed  is  worthy  of  thee,  that  through  it  thou  mani- 
festest  that  perfection  which  thine  own  conscience, 
thy  God,  and  thy  Saviour  demand  of  thee.  In  act- 
ing thus,  thou  wilt  keep  thyself  pure  from  gross 
earthly  influences,  thou  wilt  sanctify  thy  mind. 

Go  forth  and  arrest  the  evil  that  others  may 
be  planning ;  comfort  the  unhappy  whose  misfor- 
tunes thou  canst  not  prevent ;  try  to  promote  the 
interests  even  of  those  who  may  have  sought  to 
injure  thee  ;  convince  thine  enemy,  by  thy  gener- 
ous acts  towards  him,  that  he  has  formed  an  erro- 
neous opinion  of  thee  ;  but  do  not  these  things 
from  fear,  but  from  a  sense  of  duty,  from  the  feel- 
ing that  a  true  Christian  cannot  think  and  act 
otherwise.  Then  thy  deed  will  be  free  from  im- 
pure earthly  alloy,  and  will  be  solely  the  fruit  of 
the  spirit  called  to  immortality  and  perfection. 
To  do  thus  is  to  approach  the  goal  of  holiness ; 
and  that  which  is  holy  is  triumphant  at  last  ! 
Therefore  persevere  without  ceasing  in  thy  pure 
aspirations,  and  do  not  allow  thyself  to  be  led 
astray  by  any  apparent  disadvantages,  by  any 
personal  annoyance,  by   any  humiliations   which 


THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS.  379 

thou  mayest  be  subjected  to  in  consequence.  He 
who  is  incapcoble  of  such  strength  and  elevation 
of  soul,  he  will  remain  lost  among  the  crowd  of 
vulgar  minds,  and  will  deserve  the  ruin  which  he 
will  bring  upon  himself  by  his  weakness  and  his 
vacillation. 

All  men  respect  in  others  that  firmness  of 
mind  and  strength  of  principle  which  are  proof 
against  every  fate ;  yea,  even  in  bad  men,  we 
cannot  at  times  help  admiring  the  extraordinary 
determination  and  inflexibility  with  which  they 
advance  towards  the  end  they  have  marked  out 
for  themselves.  Only  those  persons  can  with 
truth  be  called  contemptible  who  have  no  power 
over  themselves,  who  are  honest  to-day,  base  to- 
morrow, who  are  ever  vacillating  between  virtue 
and  vice,  sinning  and  repenting,  and  who  never 
attain  to  any  kind  of  self-dependence.  We  de- 
spise them,  because  in  them  there  is  no  decided 
purity  of  will.  One  day  they  set  virtue  aside  for 
fear  of  exposing  themselves  to  the  malicious  ob- 
servations of  senseless  worldlings,  another  day 
they  follow  virtue  because  they  think  that  more 
honor  is  to  be  won  in  this  way  than  in  following 
sin.  But  they  succumb,  for  only  that  which  is 
pure  and  holy  ultimately  triumphs  in  life.  They 
fight  no  real  fight  against  the  power  and  influ- 
ences of  the  senses,  for  their  vacillations  testify 
that  they  are  but  helpless  tools  of  their  own  pas- 
sions.     In  none  of  the  circumstances  of  life  do 


380  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

they  show  any  will  or  spirit  of  their  own ;  what, 
then,  can  remain  of  them  when  in  death  they  lose 
the  body,  which,  with  its  earthly  lusts,  ruled 
them  ? 

Only  that  which  is  holy  triumphs  !  Remem- 
ber, O  soul,  the  majesty  of  Him  who  has  risen 
from  the  dead !  When  men  conspire  against  thy 
higher  principles,  and  give  thee  in  return  for  the 
good  thou  hast  achieved,  not  gratitude,  but  the 
curse  of  envy,  of  jealousy,  and  malice,  —  remem- 
ber him  !  Adversity  is  only  a  test  of  thy  cour- 
age, a  trial  of  the  strength  of  thy  virtue.  It  is 
easy  during  a  lovely  summer  evening  to  profess 
indifference  to  the  inclemency  of  the  weather,  or 
while  resting  in  the  lap  of  peace  to  boast  of  the 
prowess  we  should  give  proof  of  were  we  to  en- 
counter an  enemy ;  but  it  is  in  bearing  up  against 
storm  and  rain,  and  the  sudden  changes  of  the 
temperature,  that  the  strong  man  shows  his  hardi- 
ness, and  it  is  amid  the  sanguinary  horrors  of  the 
battle-field  that  the  hero  proves  his  courage. 

He  who  has  made  up  his  mind  to  act  purely 
and  nobly,  that  is  to  say,  to  think,  and  speak,  and 
act  according  to  his  best  convictions,  must  be  pre- 
pared to  encounter  many  vexatious  obstacles  to 
the  carrying  out  of  his  good  intentions.  For  if 
all  that  is  good  and  useful  met  with  no  impedi- 
ments, his  arm  and  his  heart  would  not  be  re- 
quired to  promote  it. 

Whoever  determines  to  do  his  best  in  life,  ac- 


THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS.  381 

cording  to  his  convictions,  —  to  be  just,  fair  in  all 
his  dealings,  truthful,  and  zealous  for  the  public 
weal,  —  must  be  prepared  to  find  numbers  of  per- 
sons endeavoring  to  oppose  him.  Many,  simply 
because,  being  of  an  envious  disposition,  they  hate 
everything  that  is  praiseworthy  which  they  have 
not  themselves  projected  or  accomplished  ;  others, 
because  your  efforts  may  possibly  be  opposed  to 
some  selfish  plan  of  theirs,  cherished  in  secret ; 
some,  again,  because,  being  themselves  without 
any  inward  worth,  they  are  unable  to  conceive 
that  others  are  better  than  themselves,  and  there- 
fore attribute  base  sentiments  even  to  the  best  of 
men,  and  believe  that  the  most  upright  acts  are 
dictated  by  selfish  motives ;  again,  many  will  op- 
pose you,  not  because  their  intentions  are  less 
good  than  your*own,  but  because  their  views  are 
totally  different,  owing  to  their  education,  their 
temperament,  their  outward  circumstances,  and 
experiences  of  life  being  different ;  others,  though 
they  may  do  full  justice  to  the  purity  of  your  in- 
tentions, will  resist  you,  because  they  consider 
you  a  mere  enthusiast. 

But  if  your  convictions  are  well  founded,  if 
you  have  tried  them  by  the  test  of  your  con- 
science, and  conceive  them  to  be  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God,  and  you  know  them  to  be 
pure  from  every  admixture  of  passion, — if  you 
firmly  believe  what  you  propound  to  be  truth,  or 
what  you  undertake  to  be  for  the  benefit  of  the 


382  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

world,  —  then  do  not  hesitate  to  remain  faithful 
to  yourself!  For  it  is  eternally  true,  that  to  them 
that  love  God,  all  things  work  for  good.  Every 
obstacle  will  but  stimulate  you  to  greater  exer- 
tion, and  will  prevent  you  from  relaxing  in  your 
efforts ;  every  contradiction,  every  objection,  will 
make  you  reflect,  and  perhaps  turn  your  atten- 
tion to  points  on  which  you  have  erred,  or  on 
which  you  might  otherwise  have  gone  too  far. 
These  impediments  will  therefore  serve  to  purify 
your  principles  from  all  earthly  dross,  and  render 
your  triumph  the  more  glorious. 

And  should  the  storms  that  assail  thee  prove 
too  violent,  and  thy  courage  and  thy  strength 
threaten  to  give  way,  O  then  think  of  Him  who 
is  risen  !  God  was  with  Christ,  and  God  is  with 
every  noble  soul  in  its  greatest  tribulations  on 
earth  ;  God  is  with  thee,  because  thou  seekest 
him !  It  is  possible  that  thou  may  est  fail ;  but 
what  wilt  thou  lose  ?  Perhaps  the  fame  of  the 
moment,  perhaps  thy  earthly  life.  But  of  what 
importance  are  these  ?  Do  these  things  affect 
the  sublime  and  immortal  essence  in  thee  which 
we  call  spirit  ?  Nay,  they  are  but  of  the  earth, 
earthy,  and  in  every  case  vanish  in  death.  Re- 
main faithful  to  thyself  to  the  end!  The  good 
man  may  fail,  the  good  cause  never  ! 

That  which  is  holy  is  triumphant  at  last.  Jesus, 
thou  who  art  risen  from  the  dead ;  Messiah, 
wonderful,  glorified,  majestic  Victor  over  life  and 


THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS.  383 

death,  the  halo  which  surrounds  thy  grave  teaches 
me  to  see  and  to  love  this  great  truth.  Thou 
also  hast  triumphed,  and  century  proclaims  it  to 
century  with  exultant  joy  ;  and  the  human  race, 
blessed  through  thee,  worship  thee. 

Little  did  thy  contemporaries  think,  whilst  thou 
wert  living  among  them  humbly  and  misjudged, 
that  thy  name  would  become  the  object  of  the 
world's  love  and  reverence.  Little  did  they 
think,  when  thou  wert  preaching  the  highest 
and  most  sacred  truths  with  Divine  power  and 
simplicity,  that  the  words  spoken  by  thee  in  re- 
mote places,  to  a  small  band  of  followers,  would 
resound  through  hundreds  of  years  from  the  lips 
of  millions  of  men,  in  all  languages,  in  splendid 
temples  and  in  desert  caves,  in  the  palaces  of 
kings  and  in  the  hovels  of  the  poor.  Little  did 
they  think  when  thou  wert  nailed,  bleeding,  to 
the  cross,  between  two  malefactors,  and  drew  thy 
last  sigh  amid  the  scoffs  of  the  malignant  multi- 
tude, when  the  faithful  doubted,  and  thy  beloved 
ones  fled  in  dismay ;  little  did  they  think  that  this 
cross  would  become  the  symbol  of  thy  Godlike 
services  to  the  human  race,  and  would  be  raised 
as  such  in  the  burning  deserts  of  the  tropics,  on 
the  ice-fields  of  the  far  north,  whither  no  warm 
sunbeams  ever  penetrate,  on  the  shores  of  un- 
known seas,  and  on  the  cloud-capped  summits 
of  high  mountains. 

But,   strengthened  by  thy  victory,  and  filled 


384  THE   TRIUMPH  OF  HOLINESS. 

with  the  Holy  Ghost,  thy  disciples  spread  through 
all  parts  of  the  world,  and  proclaimed  to  the  as- 
tonished nations  the  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom 
of  God.  In  spite  of  torture,  chains,  sword,  and 
cross,  they  completed  the  great  work  of  the 
redemption  of  the  world.  They  fell  victims  to 
their  zeal,  many  of  them  breathed  their  last 
under  fearful  sufferings ;  but  their  cause  was 
triumphant ! 

And  I,  Jesus  Messiah,  I  will  do  as  they !  I 
will  purify  myself  of  every  evil  tendency,  of 
every  weakness ;  I  will  stand  forth  in  word  and 
deed  as  a  perfect  man,  who  prizes  thy  word  and 
thy  truth  above  all  things.  When  occasion  offers 
for  serving  my  fellow-men,  I  will  not  first  self- 
ishly consider  what  would  be  to  my  own  ad- 
vantage, nor  timidly  give  up  what  duty  bids  me 
do,  because  of  the  obstacles  and  the  trouble  I 
may  have  to  encounter.  In  the  end  I  shall  suc- 
ceed. And  my  reward  I  carry  in  my  bosom ;  for 
that  which  is  holy  will  triumph  ! 


THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN   LIFE 
AND   ETERNITY. 

When,  after  a  few  fleeting  hours  are  past, 

Thy  will  is  fully  perfected  in  me, 
My  earthly  burden  is  removed  at  last, 

And  from  the  chains  of  sin  my  soul  set  free,  — 
The  last  sad  tear  that  earth  can  claim  is  shed, 
And  "  dust  to  dust,"  I  rest  among  the  dead,  — 

How  shall  I  to  myself,  for  joy,  be  known, 

When  the  dark,  veil  is  taken  from  mine  eyes  ? 

When  the  bright  angel  brotherhood  shall  own, 
And  my  glance  pierces  heaven's  mysteries  1 

And  what  was  sacred  held  from  mortal  sight, 

To  the  freed  spirit  is  revealed  in  light. 

Here,  ere  Thou  cam'st  thy  hidden  ways  to  teach, 
My  boasted  wisdom  was  an  idle  dream,  — 

Of  all  the  countless  joys  my  soul  shall  reach, 
My  searching  gaze  can  scarcely  catch  a  gleam  ; 

Yet  I,  confiding  in  thy  truth,  believe, 

What  thou  hast  promised,  that  shall  I  receive. 

Mercy  of  God  !  without  or  mark  or  bound, 

The  heavens  have  not  sufficient  tongues  to  praise, 

Nor  words  of  worth  enough  our  thanks  to  sound 
For  that  thou  lend'st  thy  light  to  guide  our  ways 

One  single  ray  from  thee  outshineth  far 

The  sun  and  moon,  and  every  glittering  star. 

(Revelation  xiv.  13.) 


HE  year  is  but  a  quick  succession  of 
brief  moments.  Who  is  conscious  of 
the  infinitesimal  part  of  life  that  is 
comprised  within  each  of  these  infini- 

17  T 


386         THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

tesimal  periods  of  time,  and  which  vanishes  even 
while  I  am  thinking  of  it  ?  When  a  year  has 
elapsed,  even  this  longer  period,  on  looking  back, 
seems  to  us  but  as  a  moment.  It  was  here  ;  it  is 
gone ;  and  it  will  never  come  again. 

The  day  passes  speedily  by.  Another  and  an- 
other follows,  and  passes  as  quickly.  The  dura- 
tion of  a  moment  is  but  that  of  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye  ;  and  what  are  weeks,  months,  and  years 
other  than  a  succession  of  such  moments,  which 
I  comprise  under  one  name  ? 

In  all  things  I  find  constant  changes  going 
on,  and  yet  all,  in  fact,  remain  ever  the  same. 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  years  ago,  all  was 
as  it  is  now.  The  mutable  is  ever  comprised  in 
the  immutable ;  the  fleeting  in  the  enduring.  I 
distinguish  minutes,  weeks,  months.  But  it  is 
only  the  human  understanding  that  separates 
and  makes  distinctions,  and  applies  different 
names.  In  reality,  all  are  one  and  the  same 
time.  What  I  denominate  the  seasons  are  but  the 
varying  positions  assumed  towards  the  sun  by  the 
globe  which  I  inhabit.     Time  is  immutable. 

And  though  all  things  seem  infinitely  varied, 
nevertheless,  one  thing  is  but  a  consequence  of 
another ;  and  each  is  intimately  connected  and 
identical  with  all. 

All  things  must,  by  the  closest  concatenation, 
be  joined  into  one,  for  there  is  but  one  universe. 
There  are  not  two  universes  differing  in  organiza- 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  387 

tion,  or  opposed  to  each  other.  There  is  but  one 
God,  whose  wisdom  and  laws  originated  all  exist- 
ence as  a  unity,  as  an  integral,  consisting  of 
many  integrant  parts. 

Now  if  all  things  be  but  parts  of  a  whole,  and 
there  be  but  one  Creator  of  the  whole,  and  each 
one  thing  be  indestructibly  linked  to  all  others, 
how  can  you  speak  of  time  and  eternity  as  if  you 
were  speaking  of  two  distinct  universes  ? 

How  senseless  would  it  not  be  to  suppose  that 
the  life  we  enjoy  one  day  is  distinct  from  that  of 
the  next,  because  the  days  are  separated  by  the 
shadows  of  night.  Who  imagines  because  in 
autumn  plants  wither  and  return  to  dust  and 
earth,  that  with  the  new  spring,  when  vegeta- 
tion recommences,  a  new  world,  so  to  say,  begins  I 
There  is  nothing  different  from  what  has  been ; 
all  is  again  the  same  as  it  was,  eternally  the 
same. 

Dost  thou  think  that  when  the  plant  withers, 
and  its  dust  is  dispersed  by  the  wind,  the  com- 
ponent parts  of  that  which  was  a  plant  have  been 
blown  out  of  the  universe,  and  have  been  reduced 
to  absolute  nothingness?  Nay,  whether  united 
in  a  plant,  or  scattered  as  motes  in  a  sunbeam, 
they  are  present  and  indestructible,  irremovable 
from  the  universe  of  God.  The  hidden  power 
of  life,  which  combined  this  dust  into  verdant, 
blooming  plants,  also  continues  apart  from  the 
dust,  and  in  winter  as  in  summer  works  actively 


388         THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

in  the  seeds,  in  the  universe.  When  the  sun  of 
spring  reproduces  the  conditions  laid  down  by 
the  Creator,  according  to  which  the  vital  force 
acts  upon  the  elementary  substances  around  it, 
this  action  recommences,  and  new  plants  germi- 
nate, and  put  forth  buds  and  leaves  and  blos- 
soms. Thus  every  new  thing  is  ever  a  reproduc- 
tion of  the  old ;  ever  the  same,  however  new  it 
may  appear  to  the  eye  of  man. 

In  the  universe  there  is  nothing  new ;  and 
nothing  old  is  annihilated.  What  we  call  new 
and  old  are  mere  distinctions,  made  by  our  un- 
derstanding, means  to  help  our  feeble  powers  of 
conception.  In  reality  there  is  in  nature  nothing 
new  and  nothing  old,  for  God's  creation  is  eter- 
nal. It  is  only  the  relations  of  things  to  one  an- 
other that  change,  and  these  changes  are  what 
we  call  temporal.  Whether  a  flower  withers 
and  dies,  and  is  dissolved  into  dust  and  vapor, 
or  whether  some  world,  inhabited  by  millions  of 
beings,  is  destroyed  and  reduced  to  dust,  it  is  the 
same  thing.  Neither  the  component  parts  of  the 
flower  nor  of  the  world  can  escape  from  the  uni- 
verse of  God.  It  is  only  their  relations  to  each 
other  that  have  undergone  a  change.  We  make 
a  difference  between  the  flower  and  the  world, 
because  relatively  to  our  bodies  the  one  seems  to 
us  very  small,  the  other  immense ;  but  to  the 
infinite  and  omnipresent  God,  nothing  is  small, 
and  nothing  is  great.    Therefore  is  the  most  insig- 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  389 

nificant  worm  and  the  most  powerful  of  mortals 
on  tliis  earth  of  equal  importance  to  him.  His 
providence  and  his  love  embrace  both  alike,  as 
being  his  creatures. 

We  must  beware  not  to  persuade  ourselves  into 
believing  that  that  which  we  can  see  with  our 
limited  sight,  measure  with  our  small  standard, 
and  comprehend  with  our  restricted  faculties, 
within  our  circumscribed  sphere  of  life  and  space, 
is  exactly  such  as  Ave  conceive  it  to  be.  We 
make  distinctions  where  in  nature,  strictly  speak- 
ing, none  exist.  To  us,  that  which  is  invisible, 
and  beyond  the  sphere  of  our  comprehension  on 
earth,  is  as  if  it  were  not.  There  is  nothing  what- 
soever extant  on  earth  of  which  the  elementary 
substances  were  not  previously  in  the  air,  in  the 
form  of  impalpable  and  invisible  particles.  The 
whole  globe  which  we  mortals  inhabit  has  been 
formed  out  of  components  of  the  atmosphere. 
From  the  air  water  is  precipitated ;  from  the 
air  the  plants  receive  their  constituent  elements ; 
from  the  air  and  the  plants  the  animals  receive 
theirs,  and  man  his  from  all.  Mountains,  forests, 
oceans,  &c.  are  all,  as  it  were,  children  of  the  air, 
and  may  again  be  dissolved  into  air.    All  are  one. 

All  are  one.  Therefore  are  all  things  so  closely 
linked  together  that  the  single  links  are  often 
indistinguishable.  In  the  eternal  universe  there 
is  no  yesterday  and  to-day,  —  these  only  exist  for 
us  mortals,  who  inhabit  the  little  planet  called  the 


390  THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

earth,  which  by  revolving  round  the  sun  causes 
a  fleeting  alternation  of  light  and  shade,  cold  and 
heat,  which  we  call  days  and  seasons.  In  the 
eternal  universe  there  is  no  beginning  and  no 
ending,  but  only  a  constant  play  of  relations, 
and  this  is  what  we  call  life  ;  but  eternal,  as  the 
things  themselves,  as  all  God's  works,  are  also 
their  varying  relations  to  each  other.  Conse- 
quently there  is  an  uninterrupted  reticulation  of 
life.  The  particular  relations  of  certain  parts  may 
cease,  but  the  substances  or  forces  themselves 
can  never  cease  to  be ;  and  as  little  can  the  con- 
stant variations  of  relations,  i.  e.  life,  cease  to  be. 
That  which  seems  to  us  as  a  bemnnino*  and  an 
ending,  as  a  blooming  and  fading,  as  morning  and 
evening,  that  which  we  call  birth  and  death,  old 
and  young,  is  only  the  varying  play  of  the  rela- 
tions of  things  in  the  universe,  or  the  life  of  the 
creation.  That  which  we  call  death  is  therefore 
in  itself  a  confirmation  of  life,  an  act  of  life,  and 
life  itself! 

Time  and  eternity  are  the  same  to  God.  But 
they  are  likewise  so  to  me.  Why  make  this  dis- 
tinction ?  There  is  but  one  Eternal.  After  death 
I  shall  be  in  eternity,  but  I  am  already  in  it. 
After  death  I  shall  be  with  God ;  but  here  below 
already  I  live  and  move  and  have  my  being  in 
God.  " 

However,    with   that   intensified  vital   action, 
which  we  call  death,  an  active  process  of  separa- 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  391 

tion  and  renewed  combination  takes  place  in  all 
my  component  parts.  As  in  autumn  the  vital  force 
leaves  the  withering  plant,  so  in  death  the  spirit- 
ual part  of  my  being  withdraws  from  the  earthly 
part.  That  within  me,  which  I  call  my  real  self, 
and  which  is  capable  of  conceiving  God,  enters 
into  combinations  with  other  substances  and  things 
in  the  life-teeming  universe.  But  my  discarded 
body,  which  returns  to  dust,  also  continues  in 
God's  universe  and  enters  into  other  combinations. 
And  I,  the  God-conscious  I,  the  conceiving  and 
perceiving  spirit,  I  also,  like  the  dust  of  my  body, 
shall  continue  through  all  eternity. 

Am  I  a  different  being  to-day  to  what  I  was 
yesterday,  because  I  have  put  on  other  garments  ? 
No  ;  for  though  I  may  yesterday  have  worn  an 
inferior  dress,  and  to-day  wear  a  better  one,  I  am 
nevertheless  the  same  being.  And  as  little  as  the 
raiment  which  I  wear  forms  part  of  myself,  as 
little  does  the  body  form  part  of  the  spirit,  which 
in  death  puts  it  off.  But  the  same  as  I  have  been 
while  clad  in  the  body,  the  same  shall  I  be  after 
havino-  entered  into  other  combinations.  For  I 
am  and  remain  the  same  spirit,  in  like  manner  as 
my  body  remains  the  same  dust. 

Consequently,  from  the  brief  space  of  time 
which  we  call  earthly  life,  T  pass  over  into  the 
higher  or  lower,  happier  or  unhappier  relations 
into  which  I  may  hereafter  enter,  a  worthy  or 
unworthy  spirit,  according  as  I  may  have  proved 


392         THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

myself  in  this  world.  And  thus  are  fulfilled  the 
words  of  Scripture :  "  Their  works  do  follow 
them." 

"  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord 
from  henceforth ;  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they 
may  have  rest  from  their  labors  ;  and  their  works 
do  follow  them."     (Rev.  xiv.  13.) 

Our  works  do  follow  us,  because  between  time 
and  eternity  there  is  an  intimate  and  indissoluble 
connection  ;  more  intimate  indeed  than  that  be- 
tween the  drops  of  the  sea  and  the  sea  itself. 
The  whole  system  of  created  things  is  but  one ; 
and  therefore  living  in  time,  I  am  living  in  eter- 
nity ;  and  living  in  this  world,  I  am  living  in  the 
universe,  my  Father's  house,  in  which  I  shall  live 
forevermore  ;  for  the  connection  between  the  unit 
and  the  all,  of  which  it  forms  an  integral  part,  can 
never  be  dissevered. 

I  know  that  this  indissoluble  connection  between 
time  and  eternity  exists,  because,  not  only  is  the 
smallest  mote  dancing  in  a  sunbeam  imperishable, 
but  so  likewise  is  my  self-conscious  spirit,  which 
aspires  towards  perfection.  Things  change,  yet 
endure.  The  circumstances  that  surround  me 
vary,  but  I  ever  remain  in  the  midst  of  the  infi- 
nite vital  action  of  the  universe.  Now  if  my  soul 
is  imperishable,  and  ever  retains  its  identity,  how 
can  the  connection  between  to-day  and  to-mor- 
row, between  the  here  and  the  hereafter,  between 
time  and  eternity,  ever  be  interrupted  ?     I  know 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  393 

that  the  connection  exists,  because  there  is  but 
one  God,  who  has  ordained  all  things,  who  encom- 
passes all  things,  who  created  all  things  perfect, 
not  as  fragments  and  disjointed  parts,  but  as  the 
intimately  connected  and  closely  interwoven  parts 
of  a  whole,  infinitely  harmonious  in  all  its  causes 
and  effects.  And  God  is  my  God  to-day,  as  he 
will  be  my  God  when  the  circumstances  of  this 
life  no  longer  surround  me,  but  I  shall  have  en- 
tered into  other  relations  and  connections. 

Therefore  blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the 
Lord,  for  their  works  do  follow  them.  They  fol- 
low them,  for  in  the  great  concatenation  of  things 
there  are  no  missing  links,  no  interruptions.  One 
thing  proceeds  from  another  ;  as  in  the  smallest, 
so  in  the  greatest ;  as  in  earthly,  so  in  moral  and 
spiritual  matters.  Whether  thou  risest  or  thou 
fallest,  thou  takest  the  place  thou  hast  prepared 
for  thyself;  nothing  that  is  done  can  be  undone. 
Thy  works  do  follow  thee. 

There  are  degraded  human  beings,  very  little 
removed  from  the  brutes,  who  lack  the  energy  to 
develop  any  of  their  indwelling  spiritual  capaci- 
ties. They  aspire  to  nothing  better  than  to  be 
animals,  and  to  satisfy  their  animal  desires.  What 
they  hear  said  about  virtue  (conformity  to  the 
eternal  laws  of  God)  seems  to  them  irrational 
and  absurd,  or  at  least  they  wish  to  think  it  so. 
To  be  clad  in  costly  apparel,  to  recline  upon  soft 
couches,  to  live  in  grand  houses,  to  feast  on  dainty 
17* 


394  THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

viands,  to  drink  the  best  wines,  to  enjoy  ample 
pecuniary  means,  to  have  the  power  to  oppress 
others  and  to  tower  high  above  them,  to  possess 
much  worldly  knowledge,  to  be  able  to  calculate 
cunningly,  and  to  be  irresistible  in  action,  —  in  a 
word,  to  be  a  kind  of  perfect  animal,  such  is  their 
highest  ambition.  Of  more  exalted  things  they 
have  no  conception,  so  utterly  degraded  are  they. 
If  you  tell  them  that  it  is  their  duty  to  sacrifice 
all  earthly  things  for  the  good  of  their  souls,  for 
the  acquisition  of  true  nobleness  of  spirit,  they 
look  upon  you  as  insane. 

Such  men  as  these  (in  their  innermost  hearts 
they  are  generally  unhappy)  are  very  much  in- 
clined, if  they  cannot  deny  the  Creator,  or  refuse 
to  see  him  in  his  creation,  at  least  to  deny  the 
eternal,  all-pervading  laws  of  virtue.  They 
would  fain  persuade  themselves  that  God  takes 
no  heed  of  our  actions,  that  piety  and  goodness 
are  inventions  of  the  schools,  mere  prejudices 
instilled  in  childhood,  and  intended  to  keep  people 
in  due  subjection  to  their  rulers.  That  which  is 
useful  they  deem  expedient,  and  that  which  is  ex- 
pedient they  consider  wise  and  good.  Whatever 
is  for  their  worldly  advantage  they  pronounce 
right ;  what  injures  them  is,  in  their  eyes,  wrong ; 
and  they  hold  all  means  justifiable  which  enable 
them  to  attain  their  end. 

Nevertheless  they  are  dismayed  when  they  per- 
ceive, that  though  there  are  various  religions  in 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  395 

the  world,  yet  virtue  is  the  same  among  all  nations. 
There  is  consequently  something  stable  and  un- 
varying in  the  human  spirit,  which  relates  to  its 
destiny,  its  mode  of  thinking  and  acting,  and  ac- 
cording to  which  it  judges  itself,  and  is  judged  by 
others.  Virtue  (which  is  conformity  to  the  will 
of  God)  is  consequently  not  a  shifting,  accidental 
thing.  A  pious  and  righteous  man  is  honored  in 
all  countries,  by  civilized  and  uncivilized  nations, 
and  he  is  trusted  far  more  than  are  shrewd  and 
clever  men.  On  the  other  hand,  a  selfish  villain, 
without  faith  or  belief,  who  puts  no  restraint  upon 
himself,  is  detested  by  all.  Thus  it  is  now,  and 
thus  it  was  thousands  of  years  ago.  State  con- 
stitutions, church  ceremonies,  languages,  customs, 
science,  ideas  as  to  what  is  useful  and  what  is  in- 
jurious, have  altered ;  but  the  laws  of  God  in  the 
sphere  of  the  spiritual,  the  laws  and  ideas  relating 
to  piety  and  virtue,  are  as  old  as  the  human  race 
itself.  Virtue  is  as  indispensable  to  the  immortal 
spirit  as  food  is  to  the  mortal  body.  Withdraw 
all  nourishment  from  the  body,  and  it  perishes ; 
withdraw  virtue  from  the  spirit,  and  it  perishes. 

If  righteousness  be  but  an  accidental  thing,  if  it 
be  not  in  immediate  connection  with  the  nature  of 
the  spirit,  why  is  it  that  even  the  boldest  decriers 
of  virtue  are  frequently  reluctant  to  commit  ac- 
tual crimes,  independently  of  any  fear  of  punish- 
ment in  this  world  ?  Why  is  it  that  there  are 
things  which  they  dare  not  do  ?      Or  why  is  it 


396  THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

that  when  they  do  perpetrate  bad  deeds,  they 
would  fain,  if  they  could,  conceal  them  even  from 
themselves  ? 

Virtue  is  but  the  perfection  of  the  spirit,  its 
mature  development  in  regard  to  its  destination 
in  the  universe.  The  dying  sinner  is  therefore 
an  immature  yet  rotting  fruit  on  the  great  tree  of 
life.  Virtue,  or  perfection  of  the  spirit,  is,  how- 
ever, nothing  more  than  its  self-emancipation 
from  the  trammels  of  the  earthly  nature  con- 
nected with  it,  —  its  emancipation  from  the  ani- 
mal instincts,  its  self-government  according  to  its 
own  inward  and  eternal  law  of  right,  and  of  obe- 
dience to  God ;  a  rising  from  animal  nature  to 
angelic  nature.  Virtue  is  the  spirit's  self-eleva- 
tion to  glory. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  skill  in  art  or  handicraft,  nor 
the  power  of  cleverly  calculating  events  and  turn- 
ing circumstances  to  account,  nor  deep  learning, 
nor  extensive  knowledge,  that  constitute  true 
greatness  of  soul,  but  piety  and  virtue  !  That 
which  is  useful  to  the  world  in  which  we  are  at 
present  living  will  remain  here  when  we  quit  it. 
It  was  derived  from  this  world,  was  suited  for  it, 
and  will  remain  in  it.  But  the  virtue  which  sac- 
rifices life  and  all  earthly  goods  to  carry  out  the 
will  of  God,  the  virtue  that  abstains  from  the 
things  of  this  world,  is  not  meant  to  remain  in 
this  world,  and  is  often  in  antagonism  with  it :  it 
is  not  of  this  earth,  earthy,  for  it  is  in  conflict  with 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  397 

all  that  is  earthly,  and  conquers  the  power  of  the 
world.  Virtue,  consequently,  belongs  exclusively 
to  the  spirit;  and  it  is  the  source  of  those  holy 
works  which  follow  the  righteous. 

The  virtue  that  denies  the  world  does  not  be- 
long to  the  here,  but  to  the  hereafter.  It  is  not 
born  of  this  earth,  but  comes  from  God.  Its 
effects  are  therefore  not  limited  to  this  world,  but 
extend  through  all  eternity.  All  else  may  be  re- 
warded on  earth ;  but  virtue  in  itself  is  above  all 
reward.  And  whatever  is  done  for  the  sake  of 
reward,  is  not  virtue,  but  an  act  of  earthly  expe- 
diency. The  righteous  do  not  act  for  the  sake  of 
the  profit  to  be  derived  in  this  world ;  their  eyes 
are  fixed  on  eternity.  They  aspire  after  perfec- 
tion, after  life  in  God,  and  with  God.  Thus  they 
live,  and  thus  they  sleep  away  in  the  Lord,  with- 
out any  thought  of  the  pains  and  pleasures,  the 
praise  or  blame  of  this  world.  "  Blessed  are  the 
dead  who  die  in  the  Lord,  for  their  works  do 
follow  them." 

It  is  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  and  Everlasting 
God  that  has  linked  together  time  and  eternity ; 
where,  then,  is  the  power  that  can  deny  or  de- 
stroy this  evident  and  indisputable  connection  ? 

My  heart  thrills  with  pleasure  at  the  thought 
which  Jesus,  the  holy  Revealer  of  God,  has  so  dis- 
tinctly expressed !  Time  and  eternity  are  one, 
my  here  and  my  hereafter  form  an  uninterrupted 
whole,  as  surely  as  there  is  but  one  universe,  and 
one  God,  and  that  my  works  do  follow  me. 


398  THE   CONNECTION  BETWEEN 

Blessed,  ah,  blessed  am  I,  for  I  will  and  shall 
die  in  the  Lord !  For  who  can  separate  me  from 
the  love  of  God  ? 

Blessed,  ah,  blessed  are  they  who  die  in  the 
Lord,  for  their  works  do  follow  them !  O  my  be- 
loved ones  who  early  departed  this  life,  leaving 
me  behind,  you  are  enjoying  the  happier  lot  to- 
wards which  I  am  still  striving ;  never  did  I  feel 
so  strongly  the  connection  between  life  and  eter- 
nity, as  when  I  stood  weeping  by  the  side  of  your 
pallid  corpses,  as  when  I  kissed  with  burning  lips 
your  clay-cold  cheeks.  Ye  died  in  the  Lord  and 
are  blessed.  Ye  belonged  to  God,  and  therefore 
he  called  you  to  him.  Alas !  he  knew  and  saw 
what  I  did  not.  He  witnessed  how  often  ye  had 
struggled  with  yourselves  in  secret ;  how  repent- 
ant ye  were  when  ye  had  committed  even  the 
smallest  fault !  How  trustfully  ye  looked  up  to 
him !  How  ye  communed  with  him  in  earnest 
prayer.  Now  ye  have  overcome,  and  your  piety, 
your  innocence,  your  goodness,  your  love,  do  fol- 
low you.  With  forgiving  tenderness  the  merciful 
Judge  looked  down  upon  those  errors  which  his 
children  knew  not  how  to  avoid.  Ye  are  not 
the  least  of  those  whom  he  has  taken  into  his 
fatherly  heart,  he  who  allows  not  even  the  worst 
of  sinners  to  be  lost. 

Why  does  my  soul  sorrow  for  the  dead  ?  O  ye 
blessed  ones !  I  also  shall  one  day,  and  perhaps 
very  soon,  throw  off  my  earthly  covering,  as  ye 


LIFE  AND  ETERNITY.  399 

have  thrown  off  yours,  and  shall,  like  you,  be 
clad  in  more  glorious  raiment.  We  shall  meet 
again,  we  shall  be  reunited.  Love,  like  virtue,  is 
eternal ;  for  God  is  love.  Similar  to  the  connec- 
tion between  life  and  eternity  is  that  which  exists 
between  loving  spirits.  I  have  not  entirely  lost 
you,  ye  dear  ones,  whom  the  Lord  hath  given, 
and  whom  he  hath  taken  away.  Nay,  he  hath 
given  you  to  me,  not  taken  you  away ;  for  even 
to  this  day  we  belong  to  each  other.  We  are  all 
still  dwelling  in  the  house  of  our  Father,  though 
in  different  mansions.  I  am  living  in  eternity  as 
are  ye,  only  ye  have  entered  into  new  relations 
and  connections,  which  await  me  also.  Life  on 
earth  is  but  a  fleeting  moment,  but  eternity  en- 
dures, and  throughout  eternity  we  shall  be  with 
each  other. 

Blessed,  yea,  blessed  are  they  who  die  in  the 
Lord,  for  their  works  do  follow  them,  and  mine 
also  will  follow  me  ! 

O  God  of  life,  Judge  of  the  dead !  O  merciful 
Saviour  of  sinners  !  my  works  also  will  follow  me, 
the  evil  as  the  good  !  I  look  back  with  dismay  at 
my  past  life.  How  often  I  may  have  erred,  I  do 
not  even  know.  Lord,  Lord,  wilt  thou  remember 
my  offences  ?  When  thou  enterest  into  judgment 
with  me,  how  shall  I  stand  before  thee  ?  The 
good  that  was  in  me  was  but  feebly  sustained  by 
my  will,  and,  alas !  it  was  often  set  at  naught 
by   frivolity,    thoughtlessness,    or   passion,   while 


400  LIFE  AND  ETERNITY. 

vanity  frequently  detracted  from  the  merit  of 
my  best  deeds.  How  often  have  I  been  failing 
in  love,  how  often  in  perseverance,  how  often  in 
meekness  and  humility. 

Save  me,  O  Lord,  from  the  painful  discourage- 
ment which  takes  possession  of  me  when  I  think 
of  my  shortcomings  and  my  errors,  and  of  all  in 
which,  whether  it  be  in  secret  or  in  public,  I  have 
offended  against  thee  and  against  my  fellow-men ; 
for  through  my  own  strength  alone  I  shall  never 
attain  to  that  which  I  ought  to  be,  in  accordance 
with  thy  will  and  with  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 
Could  I  not  place  my  hope  and  my  trust  in  thy 
mercy,  I  should  be  disconsolate  indeed  at  the 
thought  of  the  future,  and  of  the  change  that 
must  come  over  me  in  death  ! 

But  thou,  O  Merciful  God,  art  my  comfort  and 
my  trust !  Accept  my  will  for  half  the  deed,  my 
endeavors  for  half  success,  my  conflicts  for  half 
the  victory.  Forgive  me  my  trespasses  !  Thou 
knowest  how  often  I  try  to  lift  myself  up,  though 
I  fall  back  each  time  in  helpless  impotence  ! 

But  perhaps  life  is  but  one  long  struggle  against 
evil,  and  that  he  may  find  mercy  before  thee  who 
has  had  courage  enough  not  to  shrink  from  the 
combat,  but  to  carry  it  on  to  the  best  of  his  power. 

And  I  will  never  weary  in  this  struggle  after 
perfection.  As  thy  soldier  I  will  die,  full  of  faith, 
and  full  of  hope  in  thy  mercy,  O  Father,  who 
ever  granteth  more  than  we  deserve.    Amen. 


GLORIFICATION   AFTER   DEATH. 


What,  then,  is  mine  ?     What  life  of  bliss  ? 

What  quickening  stream  my  dust  flows  through  ? 
O'er  all  my  limbs  what  glow  is  this  1 

Is  it  my  frame  ?  —  I  live  anew  1 
Can  it  be  1 ?     Are  these  my  veins  ? 

This  Godlike  glory,  is  it  mine  ? 
I  am  not  bound  in  death's  cold  chains  1 

Who  calls  1     Whose  throne  doth  yonder  shine  ? 
Ah  !  it  is  God,  —  my  trust,  —  my  own,  — 
Messiah,  it  is  thou  alone  ! 

0  Lord,  thy  truth  it  faileth  never, 
For  life  renewed  I  thank  thee  ever.1 

In  Revelation's  light  I  soar. 
All  hail !     My  foe  subdued  doth  lie, 
Death  swallowed  up  in  victory, 

And  in  the  dust  I  rest  no  more. 
Hail,  Lord  !     All  honor,  might,  are  thine  ! 

Saviour  !  from  thee  my  life  doth  spring. 
The  angel  choir  I  haste  to  join, 

And  loudest  hallelujahs  sing. 

(1  Cor.  xv.  36-50.) 


I  possess  the  right  of  citizenship  in 
two  worlds  ;  if  I  belong  not  only  to 
the  life  here  below,  but  shall  hereafter, 
and  perhaps  soon,  belong  to  a  higher 
life  also  ;  O  then  it  cannot  be  wrong  for  me  to 
dwell  at  times  on  that  which  I  have  to  look  for- 


402       GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH. 

ward  to,  and  which  is  ever  drawing  me  towards 
itself  by  a  feeling  of  indefinite  longing.  It  is  as 
great  a  satisfaction  to  me  to  occupy  my  thoughts 
with  the  memory  of  the  dear  ones  that  have  been 
separated  from  me  by  death,  as  it  is  to  cultivate  in- 
tercourse with  those  who  still  surround  me  in  life, 
and  are  the  joy  of  my  existence.  For  the  former 
also  are  still  alive,  though  no  longer  abiding  in 
earthly  form.  Though  the  body  perish,  the  spirit 
lives.  I  still  love  you,  ye  distant  ones,  and  can  I 
doubt  that  ye  still  love  me  ?  Nay,  spirits  whom 
God  hath  united,  no  man  can  put  asunder,  neither 
can  the  grave. 

It  is  true,  that  as  to  what  will  be  my  lot,  and 
what  I  myself  shall  be  on  the  other  side  the  grave, 
I  am  left  in  ignorance  ;  but  it  cannot  be  wrong 
that  I  should  from  time  to  time  occupy  my  imagi- 
nation with  the  subject ;  that  I  should  endeavor, 
by  comparison  with  what  I  experience  here  below, 
to  divine  what  may  take  place  hereafter.  Here 
we  live  as  yet  by  faith,  not  by  sight.  But  even 
Jesus  spoke  in  sublime  images  of  the  supersensu- 
ous  state  into  which  we  shall  enter  after  the  death 
of  the  body.  His  disciples  also  loved  to  dwell 
upon  the  subject  with  their  followers,  or  with 
those  among  them  who  entertained  doubts  as  to 
the  possibility  of  a  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
had  long  been  accepted  among  the  Jews.  The 
Pharisees  taught  it,  but  in  a  coarse  and  sensuous 


GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH.       403 

form,  maintaining  that  the  same  flesh  that  is  con- 
signed to  the  grave  was  again  necessarily  to  clothe, 
and  to  become  the  vehicle  of,  the  spirit,  —  an 
opinion  which  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  Sad- 
ducees,  another  Jewish  sect.  When  called  upon 
to  pronounce  as  to  which  of  the  two  conflicting 
opinions  was  correct,  Christ  showed  that  both 
the  Jewish  sects  were  in  error  on  this  point ;  and 
that  immortality,  or  life  in  the  world  beyond  the 
grave,  or  resurrection  after  death,  would  take 
place  without  the  necessity  for  a  corporeal  resur- 
rection, in  the  coarsely  sensual  sense  in  which 
they  understood  it ;  namely,  that  the  soul  required 
a  body  to  be  provided,  as  before,  with  all  the 
earthly  instincts  necessary  for  its  preservation  and 
propagation.  The  Sadducees  felt  the  truth  of 
his  words,  and  exclaimed,  u  Master,  thou  hast 
well  said!"     (Luke  xx.  27-39.) 

That  which  Jesus  but  rarely  touched  upon  in 
public,  he  seems  to  have  developed  more  fully 
in  his  confidential  communings  with  his  disciples ; 
for  we  find  that  they  entertained  the  same  views 
as  he  did  as  to  the  state  of  the  spirit  after  death, 
and  as  to  the  Jewish  doctrine  of  the  resurrection. 
"Thou  fool,"  says  St.  Paul,  "that  which  thou 
sowest  is  not  quickened  unless  it  die  ;  and  that 
which  thou  sowest,  thou  sowest  not  that  body 
that  shall  be,  but  bare  grain.  It  is  sown  a  natural 
body  ;  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  Flesh  and 
blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God ;  neither 


404       GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH. 

doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption."  (1  Cor. 
xv.  36-50.)  The  human  body,  composed  of 
earthly  substances,  will  return  to  earth.  It  is  not 
capable  of  eternal  life ;  being  corruptible,  it  can- 
not inherit  the  incorruptible.  It  will  rise  from 
the  dead  a  spiritual  body  ;  that  is  to  say,  when  our 
earthly  members  separate  from  our  higher  self, 
this  latter  will  rise  with  greater  freedom  above 
that  which  is  dead,  and  as  if  transfigured  or  glori- 
fied, will  be  encompassed  by  a  spiritual  covering 
or  body. 

This  doctrine,  embodied  in  the  Holy  Scriptures 
as  it  was  conceived  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  and  his 
disciples,  is  in  wonderful  harmony  with  what  we 
discern  here  below  as  to  the  nature  of  man.  It 
is  unmistakable  that  the  spirit,  while  dwelling 
in  the  earthly  body,  is  endued  with  a  spiritual 
body,  which  is  freed  at  the  death  of  the  former, 
and  comes  forth,  as  it  were,  as  the  blossom  does 
from  the  seed. 

Death  is  sometimes  figuratively  called  the 
brother  of  sleep.  And  in  reality  it  is  so.  Sleep 
is  the  retirement  of  the  spirit  and  the  soul  within 
themselves,  —  a  withdrawal,  so  to  say,  from  the 
outward,  coarser  parts  of  the  body.  The  same 
takes  place  in  death.  In  sleep,  however,  the 
outward  members  of  the  flesh,  though  abandoned 
by  our  higher  self,  continue  to  be  animated  by 
the  plant-life.  Man  lies  there  insensible,  but  the 
blood  still  flows  through  the  veins  ;  the  lungs  still 


GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH.       405 

breathe  ;  all  that  is  essential  for  the  continuance 
of  his  plant-like  life  is  in  full  activity,  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  insensible  flower  or  tree.  This 
retirement  of  the  spiritual  part  of  man  at  regular 
intervals  seems  to  be  necessary  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  earthly  part,  as  this  would  otherwise 
by  constant  use  be,  as  it  were,  worn  out  and  ren- 
dered less  efficient  as  an  instrument  of  the  spirit. 
If  the  plant-like  life  of  the  human  body  be  left  to 
go  on  unchecked  by  the  activity  of  the  spirit,  it 
works  more  uninterruptedly,  according  to  its  own 
laws,  and  thus  acquires  new  strength.  Therefore 
it  is  that  after  every  healthy  sleep,  we  find  that 
the  body  is  refreshed  and  the  mind  cheered.  In 
death,  however,  even  the  plant-life  abandons  the 
substances  of  which  the  body  is  composed,  and 
which  are  held  together  by  this  force  alone,  and 
in  consequence  they  decay. 

Spirit  and  soul  may,  on  the  other  hand,  have 
abandoned  the  body,  without  the  latter  being  ap- 
parently dead,  though  real  death  may  be  truly 
said  to  have  taken  place  when  the  better  part  of 
man  has  left  it.  But  the  body  breathes,  its  pulses 
beat ;  and  it  is  said  of  the  man  :  he  is  still  alive. 
At  other  times  it  may  happen  that  the  vital  power 
withdraws  from  certain  parts  of  the  body,  and 
that  these  die,  as  it  were,  while  the  spirit  and  the 
soul  still  remain  united  with  the  other  parts. 

Sleep  is  one  of  the  greatest  mysteries  connected 
with  human  life,  and  well  worthy  of  our  closest 


406       GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH. 

and  most  intelligent  observation.  Bnt  this  obser- 
vation is  rendered  doubly  difficult  by  the  fact, 
that  the  observing  spirit  is,  in  regard  to ,  the  mat- 
ters to  be  taken  cognizance  of,  subject  to  the  laws 
of  corporeal  nature,  and  must  allow  these  to  act 
without  disturbance,  in  order  that  they  may  be 
restored  and  strengthened  for  its  use.  Sleep  may 
be  said  to  be  the  nourishment  of  the  vital  force. 
The  spirit  contributes  nothing  to  this.  The  vital 
force  is  as  independent  of  it  as  is  the  digestive 
process  which  converts  the  food  of  the  body  into 
blood,  or  as  is  the  growth  of  the  hair,  or  the  vari- 
ous secretions  that  take  place  in  the  body.  When 
we  are  awake,  the  vital  force  is  consumed,  it  flows 
out  and  acts  outwardly ;  when  we  are  asleep,  it  is 
gathered  in  from  without.  Therefore,  as  you  will 
observe,  not  only  men  and  animals  sleep,  but  also 
plants,  —  they  close  their  calyxes,  or  fold  and 
hang  their  leaves,  when  night  sets  in. 

But  what  is  the  state  of  our  higher  self  during 
its  retirement  from  the  outward  senses  ?  It  can  no 
longer  receive  impressions  from  without  through 
eye  or  ear,  through  taste,  or  smell,  or  sensation. 
But  shall  we  therefore  say  that  the  spirit  is  anni- 
hilated during  those  moments  ?  Were  this  so, 
then  our  bodies  would  each  morning  belong  to 
another  spirit,  another  soul.  But  the  spirit  is 
perfectly  conscious  that  it  is  ever  the  same,  that 
it  is  no  other  to-day  than  it  was  yesterday. 
Though    concentrated    within   itself,    and    with- 


GLORIFICATION  AFTER   DEATH.       407 

drawn  from  the  world  of  sense,  and  in  conse- 
quence deprived  for  the  time  of  the  mediums 
through  which  it  communicates  with  the  outer 
world,  the  spirit  lives  and  is  active. 

Dreams  are  a  proof  of  the  continued  activity 
of  the  spirit  during  sleep.  At  whatever  hour  we 
may  be  awakened  out  of  sleep,  we  are  conscious 
of  having  dreamt,  or  when  this  is  not  the  case,  it 
is  because  the  remembrance  of  the  dream  is  oblit- 
erated by  the  strong  impressions  which  are  pro- 
duced on  the  sudden  reawakening  of  the  senses. 
And  though  on  such  occasions  we  mav  have  no 
distinct  recollection  of  our  dreams,  we  have, 
nevertheless,  a  clear  impression  that  on  being 
awakened  we  have  to  turn  our  attention  forcibly 
away  from  what  was  inwardly  occupying  it,  to 
the  outward  objects  which  then  lay  claim  to  it. 

In  our  dreams  we  are  conscious  of  perceptions, 
desires,  and  feelings  ;  but  the  outward  senses  be- 
ing, as  it  were,  closed,  the  spiritual  activity  goes 
on  independently  of  outward  objects.  It  rarely 
leaves  a  strong  and  lasting  impression  on  the 
memory  ;  nevertheless,  it  has  taken  place.  Spirit 
and  soul  are  consequently  active,  even  though  we 
may  not  afterwards  be  able  to  remember  the  na- 
ture of  their  activity.  Indeed,  who  can  remem- 
ber all  the  countless  but  fleeting  ideas,  that  rise 
in  the  mind  every  moment  of  the  day?  But 
would  we,  therefore,  maintain  that  our  spirit,  at 
the  very  time  when  it  was  perhaps  most  active 
and  reflective,  had  no  ideas  ? 


408       GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH. 

In  dreams,  the  self-consciousness  of  the  spirit, 
that  is  to  say,  its  knowledge  of  its  own  existence, 
is  exactly  the  same  as  in  waking  life.     In  dream- 
ing, as  when  awake,  it  distinguishes  itself  from  the 
objects  of  its  perception.     Without  this  self-con- 
sciousness, without  this  insulation,  so  to  say,  of 
the  ego  from  the  images  of  its  own  conceptions,  it 
could  not  dream.     Whenever  we  are  able  to  re- 
call to  mind  a  past  dream,  we  shall  find  that  it 
was  our  ego  which,  with  full  consciousness  of  itself, 
lived  and  moved  among  the  creations  of  its  imagi- 
nation.    We  may  forget  the  various  details  of  a 
dream,  and  even  the  entire  dream,  during  which 
the    impressions   produced   by  the   spirit  on  the 
sleeping  body,  through  desires  and  feelings,  were 
not  very  strong  ;  consequently  we  may  also  forget 
that  the  spirit  was  conscious  of  itself  during  the 
interval ;  but  it  does  not  follow  from  this  that  our 
self-consciousness,   the    spirit's   knowledge   of   its 
own  identity  and   existence,   has  for  a  moment 
ceased !      There    are    persons    who,    even   when 
merged   in   deep   thought    during    their   waking 
hours,  become  perfectly  unconscious  of  what  is 
going  on  around  them.     The  mind,   withdrawn 
from  the  outward  parts  of  the  body  and  the  senses, 
is  concentrated  in  itself,  and  occupied  with  itself 
alone  ;  to  all  appearance  these  persons,  at  such 
moments,  seem  to  be  dreaming  or  sleeping  with 
open  eyes.     But  who  will  deny  that,  during  these 
periods  of  deep  thought,  they  are  fully  conscious 


GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH.      409 

of  themselves,  though  they  hear  not  with  their 
ears  and  see  not  with  their  eyes  ?  The  very  fact 
that  we  are  able,  when  we  are  determined  so  to 
do,  to  awaken  ourselves  from  sleep  at  a  fixed 
hour,  is  another  proof  in  favor  of  the  continuance 
of  our  self-consciousness,  and  of  the  consciousness 
of  our  existence. 

We  cannot  therefore  say  of  a  person,  whether 
in  light  slumber  or  in  deep  sleep,  that  he  has  lost 
consciousness,  for  he  retains  the  knowledge  of  his 
own  existence,  though  he  does  not  make  it  known 
to  us.  The  spirit  never  loses  the  consciousness 
of  its  own  being,  and  the  soul  never  loses  the 
consciousness  of  its  identity,  although  when  they 
return  to  the  sphere  of  the  outward  senses,  they 
may  have  lost  the  remembrance  of  having  retained 
this  in  their  sleeping  state.  The  same  takes  place 
during  a  swoon,  when  in  consequence  of  the  par- 
tial and  temporary  disturbance  of  the  plant-life, 
the  spiritual  part  of  man  withdraws  into  itself; 
for  the  spirit  shuns  what  is  dead,  and  is  only 
bound  to  substances  which  are  in  themselves  life- 
less by  the  bond  of  the  vital  force.  Although  a 
person  in  a  swoon  gives  no  sign  of  self-conscious- 
ness, he  is,  nevertheless,  as  little  without  it  as 
when  asleep.  Indeed,  many  persons  on  reeovcr- 
ino-  from  a  swoon  remember  idens  which  have 
occupied  them  during  the  period  of  apparent  life- 
lessness,  just  as  many,  on  awaking  from  sleep, 
remember   their    dreams,    while    others    do    not. 

18 


410       GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH. 

Nay,  there  are  physical  conditions,  such,  for  in- 
stance, as  those  of  catalepsy,  during  which  the 
body  presents  a  pale,  cold,  breathless,  motionless, 
rigid  appearance,  like  that  of  a  corpse  ;  while  the 
spirit,  nevertheless,  remains  in  connection  with 
some  of  the  senses,  and  is  perfectly  cognizant  of 
all  that  goes  on  around  it,  but  is  unable  to  give 
the  slightest  outward  sign  of  life  or  consciousness. 
There  is  another  remarkable  condition  incident 
to  human  nature,  which  convinces  us  of  the  unin- 
terrupted activity  of  the  spirit,  and  of  its  never- 
ceasing  consciousness,  even  during  periods  of 
which  it  subsequently  loses  the  remembrance.  I 
allude  to  the  condition  of  the  sleep-walker.  He 
falls,  to  all  appearances,  into  the  ordinary  state  of 
sleep.  His  outward  senses  are  closed.  He  hears 
not,  sees  not,  feels  not.  Suddenly  he  seems  to 
awake,  not  out  of  sleep,  but  in  it.  He  hears,  but 
not  with  his  ears  ;  he  sees,  but  not  with  his  eyes ; 
he  feels,  but  not  through  the  skin.  He  walks, 
he  speaks,  he  performs  various  acts,  and,  to  the 
utter  astonishment  of  the  spectators,  often  with 
greater  skill  and  precision  than  he  would  be 
capable  of  when  awake.  In  this  state  he  has  a 
vivid  recollection  of  the  events  which  have  taken 
place  during  his  waking  life,  and  not  unfrequently, 
indeed,  of  occurrences  which  entirely  escape  his 
memory  when  his  senses  are  fully  awake.  After 
having  remained  in  this  state  for  some  time,  he 
again  sinks  into  ordinary  sleep,  and  when  at  length 


GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH.       411 

lie  rouses  himself  from  this,  he  is  perfectly  uncon- 
scious of  everything  that  has  taken  place.  He 
has  forgotten  what  he  said  and  what  he  did,  and 
often  finds  it  impossible  to  believe  what  those  who 
have  seen  his  sleep-walking  tell  him.  But  can 
we  deny  that  his  spirit  has  been  .self-conscious, 
and  wonderfully  active,  during  that  sleep  ?  When 
the  somnambulist  falls  again  into  that  state  of  out- 
ward  sleeping  and  inward  waking,  he  remembers 
while  in  this  condition,  which  even  to  himself  is 
incomprehensible,  all  that  he  did,  and  thought, 
when  previously  in  it,  and  of  which,  when  his 
outward  senses  are  awake,  he  knows  nothing. 

How  is  this  to  be  explained  ?  How  is  it  that 
when  asleep,  when  the  outward  senses  are,  so  to 
say,  closed,  we  nevertheless,  in  such  cases  as  the 
one  just  alluded  to,  can  hear  and  see  not  only  as 
well,  but  better  than  when  awake  ?  It  is  because 
the  body  is  nothing  more  than  the  outward  shell 
or  covering  of  the  spirit ;  because  in  itself  the 
body,  independently  of  the  soul,  possesses  neither 
the  power  of  sensation  nor  perception,  the  eye  of 
the  soulless  body  being  as  sightless  as  that  of  a 
marble  statue.  It  is  consequently  the  soul,  and 
the  soul  alone,  that  feels,  sees,  and  hears  what  is 
going  on  outwardly.  The  eye,  the  ear,  &c.  are 
only  special  arrangements  in  the  fleshly  covering, 
skilfully  adapted  for  conveying  impressions  from 
the  outer  world  to  the  soul.  There  are,  however, 
instances,  as  we  have  seen,  in  which  the  gross 


412       GLORIFICATION  AFTER  DEATH. 

bodily  covering  being  diseased,  and  having  become 
injured  in  some  way,  the  soul,  as  it  were,  comes 
forth  from  it,  and  continues  its  activity  without 
the  aid  of  the  outward  senses.  In  these  cases  it 
also  acts  upon  an  entirely  dhTerent  set  of  nerves 
than  when  the  body  is  in  its  ordinary  waking 
state  ;  and  through  the  increased  vegetative  force 
in  these,  it  carries  on  its  action  against  that  which 
is  in  itself  lifeless  in  man. 

The  soul  is  consequently  the  sensitive  organ, 
not  the  body,  and  is  therefore  the  true  and  real 
body  of  the  spirit,  and  the  body  is  only  its  out- 
ward framework,  its  shell  and  covering.  Now, 
as  we  know  from  numerous  instances  and  experi- 
ences that  the  activity  and  self-consciousness  of 
the  spirit  never  cease,  not  even  during  the 
moments  in  respect  to  which  it  may  not  be  able 
to  remember  having  been  self-conscious ;  as  we 
know,  that  when  engaged  in  deep  meditation  the 
spirit  may  become  unconscious  of  its  own  body 
and  of  all  outward  circumstances,  or  in  certain 
diseases  may  be  capable  of  acting  on  the  members 
of  the  body,  or,  as  in  cases  of  somnambulism,  is 
even  capable  of  entirely  dispensing  with  the  aid 
of  the  bodily  senses :  there  is  no  difficulty  in  con- 
ceiving how  the  immortal  spirit,  even  after  having 
entirely  thrown  off  its  gross  and  perishable  body, 
can  retain  its  self-consciousness  and  the  feeling  of 
its  identity,  though  it  can  no  longer  manifest  itself 
through  the   medium  of  the   body  to  those  who 


GLORIFICATION  AFTER   DEATH.       413 

are  still  living  in  the  flesh !  We  are  thus  able 
to  conceive  what  is  the  spiritual  body  of  which 
St.  Paul  speaks ;  what  is  the  incorruption  which 
is  to  rise  out  of  corruption ;  what  is  the  weakness 
that  falls  off,  or  is  sown  in  the  grave,  and  is  raised 
in  power,  and  soars  towards  heaven,  being  mature 
for  the  better  life.  (1  Cor.  xv.  43.)  This,  then, 
is  the  glorification  after  death  ;  this  is  the  spiritual 
resurrection.  That  which  is  born  of  the  earth 
must  return  to  the  earth ;  but  the  spirit,  invested 
with  the  glorified  body,  bears  the  image  of  the 
heavenly,  as  it  has  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly. 
(1  Cor.  xv.  49.)  The  fleshly  body,  given  over 
to  corruption  in  the  grave,  feels  no  more  ;  but  in 
reality  it  has  never  felt  through  itself  alone.  It 
was  the  spiritual  body,  that  is,  the  soul,  which  in 
truth  felt  and  perceived;  and  it  will  continue  to 
do  so  even  though  dissevered  from  its  earthly 
shell.  Its  power  of  feeling  and  perception  will 
indeed  be  enhanced;  and  the  spirit,  continuing 
its  self-conscious  life  in  the  spiritual  body,  will 
still  see  the  glory  of  God  in  his  creation,  and  will 
recognize  and  love  the  beings  it  loved  before. 
But  it  will  no  longer  have  sensual  or  earthly 
wants  and  desires,  and  it  will  know  no  tears ; 
it  will  bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly  from 
whence   it  descends. 

What  shall  I  feel,  when  thou  callest  me,  O  my 
Creator,  my  God !  When  the  time  of  my  glori- 
fication shall  arrive  ;  when  my  living  friends  are 


414       GLORIFICATION  AFTER   DEATH. 

weeping  around  me  ;  when  my  glorified  dear  ones 
are  drawing  nigh ;  and  my  heart  blesses  all  with 
equal  love !   When  I  shall  appear  before  thee,  sanc- 
tified through  Jesus  Christ,  and  having  become  a 
partaker  of  his  kingdom,  I  will  seek  him  and  will 
fall   down   before   thee,    O    Lord,   and   pray 
to  thee   with  increased  thankfulness, 
with  deeper  reverence  and  awe, 
that  my  immortal  spirit  may 
ever  ripen    to   great- 
er perfection    in 
every  virtue ! 
Amen. 


Cambridge  :   Stereotyped  and  Trinted  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


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